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Uamo Thornjoroft, R. A., Sculptor. 



ALFRED THE GREAT 



{By permission of Alfred Bowker, Mayor of Winchester, England, and Honorary 
Secretary of the National Commemoration of King Alfred the Great.) 



ENGLAND'S STORY 

A HISTORY FOR GRAMMAR 
AND HIGH SCHOOLS 



BV 

EVA MARCH TAPPAN, Ph.D. 

Author of "American Hero Stories," "An Elementary History 

of Our Country," "Old World Hero Stories" 

"Our European Ancestors," etc. 




BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO SAN FRANCISCO 

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 
(Cfee ftitoer$'iDe $re?£ Cambridge 

t- 1 



Revised Edition 






COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 

Copyright, 1901, by Houghton, Mifflin & Co, 

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 



Twenty -seventh Impression, January, IQ22 



,> L 



mw ftibrrfiibt $rrfl6 

CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS 
PRINTED IN THE U . S . A 

JUL 27 72 

©CI.AB77B82 
^o ( 



PREFACE 

To the Revised Edition 

The purpose of England's Story is to give students in 
the upper grammar grades or the Junior High School a 
broad, simple basis for their later reading and study of 
history and literature. 

In all the history of empire there is nothing more 
remarkable than the fact that part of one small island 
should in the course of ten centuries have become the 
ruler of more than 433,000,000 people and have acquired 
more than 1 2,000,000 square miles of territory, situated 
in Europe, Asia, Africa, America, and Australasia. 
How this was brought about, a tale which is always new 
and always interesting, is the story told by the following 
pages. 

The former edition has succeeded far beyond the 
author's hopes when the book was written. May this 
new edition, bringing the story down through the World 
War, serve to interest many more young people in the 
history of "our neighbors across the sea." 

EVA MARCH TAPPAN 

Worcester, Massachusetts 
January, 192 1 



CONTENTS 



C**1PTER 'AOK 

I. The Romans in Britain. S5 b - c - to 4'© a. d. . I 

II. The Saxons and the Danes. 410-1066 ... 12 

III. The Normans. 1066-1154 . 31 

1. William the Conqueror 31 

2. William II - 45 

3. Henry I. 49 

4. Stephen (of Blois) 57 

IV. The Angevins, or Plantagenets. ii 54-1399 • 64 

5. Henry II 64 

6. Richard I. ., 76 

7. John 82 

8. Henry III 88 

9. Edward 1 93 

TO. Edward II I04 

11. Edward III 106 

12. Richard II 115 

V. Kings of Lancaster and York. 1 399-1 485 . . 125 

13. Henry IV 123 

14. Henry V 128 

15. Henry VI. . 133 

16. Edward IV 143 

17. Edward V 148 

18. Richard III 148 

VI. The Tudor Sovereigns. 1485-1603 155 

19. Henry VII. , 155 

20. Henry VIII 162 

31. Edward VI. . .176 



vl CONTENTS 

22. Mary 183 

23. Elizabeth 188 

VII. The Stuarts. 1603-1714 211 

24. James 1 21 1 

25. Charles 1 222 

The Commonwealth and Cromwell .... 241 

26. Charles II 252 

27. James II. 263 

28. William (of Orange) and Mary 271 

29. Anne ....* 281 

VIII. The House of Hanover. 17 14- ...... 289 

30. George I 2S9 

31. George II • * • . 294 

32. George III ........ 305 

33. George IV . 327 

34. William IV 330 

35. Victoria .............. 335 

36 Edward VII. (of Coburg) ...,,,,. 356 

37. George V .,,,,,, 358 



ILLUSTRATIONS, MAPS, AND GENEALOGIES 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Alfred the Great. By permission of Alfred Bowker, 
Mayor of Winchester, and Honorary Secretary of the 
National Commemoration of King Alfred the Great 

Frontispiece 

Dover Cliffs. From a photograph 2 

The Landing of Cesar. From a picture by Blakey as 
shown in Craik and MacFarlane's Pictorial History of Eng- 
land . . . 3 

Coracles of Early Britons. From Knight's Old Eng- 
land 5 

Stonehenge. From a photograph 6 

Roman Wall. From Craik and MacFarlane's Pictorial His- 
tory of England IO 

Ancient Jutish Boat. From Engelhardt's Denmark in the 
Early Iron Age 13 

Saxon Buildings. From MS. in the Harleian Library at the 
British Museum, as shown in Cutts's Parish Priests ... 16 

The Ruins of Whitby Abbey. From a photograph . . 18 

Threshing and Winnowing. From a Hymnarium of the 
eleventh century found in the Cottoman Library at the 
British Museum. Knight's Old England 20 

The Coming of the Danes. From a drawing by M. J. 
Burns 23 

Harold swears on the Relics: Bayeux Tapestry. 
From Jules Comte's La Tapisserie de Bayeux 32 

William sails to England : Bayeux Tapestry. From 
Jules Comte's La Tapisserie de Bayeux 33 

Battle of Senlac: Bayeux Tapestry. From Jules 
Comte's La Tapisserie de Bayeux 35 

Westminster Abbey in the Days of Edward the Con- 
fessor: Bayeux Tapestry. From Jules Comte's La 
Tapisserie de Bayeux 37 

A Norman Castle Keep, Rochester Castle. From a 
photograph , 40 



viU LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Norman Soldiers. From Grose's Military Antiquities 44 

Robert, Duke of Normandy, a Crusader. FromStot- 
hard's Monumental Effigies 47 

Durham Cathedral. From a photograph 50 

Female Costume, Time of Henry I. From a psalter of 
the twelfth century, as shown in Knight's Old England 54 

"The Standard" of the Battle of 1138. From MS. 
Arundel 150 (British Museum), an early thirteenth century 
copy of part of the Chronicle of Roger of Hoveden ... 59 

A Mystery Play at Coventry. From an old print . . 62 

A Becket disputing with Henry II. From Hubert Hall's 
Court Life under the P lantagenets, Frontispiece . ... 68 

The Scene of A Becket's Murder in Canterbury Ca- 
thedral. From a photograph 70 

A Squire becoming a Knight. From a fourteenth century 
painting by Simone Memmi, as shown in Gautier's La 
Chevalrie 76 

A Knight Templar of the Time of Richard I. From 
Stothard's Monumental Effigies . y'S 

Richard I. in Prison. From an old MS. as shown in 
Strutt's Ecclesiastical and Regal Antiquities 79 

Military and Civil Costume in the Time of Richard I. 
From Harley Roll, Y 6, as shown in Gardiner's Student's 
History of England 81 

Magna Carta Island, Runnymede. From a photograph 85 

Facsimile Extract from Magna Carta. From one of 
the original copies of the Magna Carta in the British 
Museum, as shown in Craik and MacFarlane's Pictorial 
History of England . 86 

Coronation of Henry III. From Strutt's Ecclesiastical 
and Regal Antiquities 89 

Building Operations during the Reign of Henry III. 
From Gardiner's Student's History of England 92 

Plantagenet King at Table. From Hubert Hall's Court 
Life under the Plantagenets 96 

Coronation Chair with Stone of Scone. From a pho- 
tograph 98 

William Wallace. After an engraving by S. Alphonse 
of the statue by W. G. Stevenson. From the Art fournal . 99 

A Band of Minstrels. From Cutts's Scenes and Charac- 
ters of the Middle Ages 102 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ix 

Stirling Castle. From a photograph 105 

A Genoese Crossbowman. From Knight's Old England , 108 
An English Archer. From Longman's Edward III. . . 109 
The Black Prince. From Stothard's Monumental Effi- 
gies II0 

John Ball preaching from Horseback. After a MS. 

of Froissart's "Chronicle." From Cutts's Parish Priests . 113 
John Wiclif. From South Kensington National Portraits. 

Painter unknown ll 7 

Geoffrey Chaucer. From the National Portrait Gallery. 

Painter unknown IJ 9 

A Group of Canterbury Pilgrims. From Cutts's Par- 
ish Priests . . 120 

Henry IV. and his Court. From Strutt's Ecclesiastical 

and Regal A ntiquities 1 2 4 

A Group of English Knights, and French Man at 
Arms. From Cutts's Scenes and Characters of the Middle 

Ages l2 9 

Movable Tower, Archers. Cannon, etc., of the Fif- 
teenth Century. From Knight's Old England . . . 131 
Statue of Joan of Arc, by Fremiet, Place des Pyramides, 
Paris. From Louis Gonse's La Sculpture Francaise de- 

puis le XlVieme siecle *3 6 

Costumes of Ladies of Rank during the Fifteenth 

Century. From Strutt's English Dress 140 

Edward IV., his Queen and Son. From Strutt's Eccle- 
siastical and Regal Antiquities H4 

Facsimile Specimen of Caxton's Printing. From Blade's 

William Caxton 146 

The Sanctuary at Westminster. From Knight's Lon- 
don .'•-.• ,49 

The Princes in the Tower. From the painting by Sir 

John E. Millais, P. R. A l 5 l 

Elizabeth of York. From the engraving by W. H oil . .156 
Henry VII. From the National Portrait Gallery. Painted 

1505, by an unknown Flemish artist • • J 5 6 

General Costume in Time of Henry VII. From Knight's 

Old England . J S9 

The Chapel of Henry VII., Westminster Abbey. From 

a photograph lt>i 

Henry VIII. After an engraving by Houbraken (from an 



X LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

original painting by Holbein), in the Gardiner Greene Hub- 
bard Collection, Library of Congress 163 

English Warship which conveyed Henry VIII. to 
France. From Lacroix's Military and Religious Life in 
the Middle Ages 165 

Wolsey and his Suite. From Knight's Old England . . 168 

Thomas Wolsey. From the National Portrait Gallery. 
Painter unknown 1 70 

Thomas Cromwell. Painted by Holbein. From South 
Kensington National Portraits 1 74 

Edward VI. From the painting by Holbein at Windsor . 177 

Edward VI. and Council. After a woodcut on the title- 
page of the Statutes of 1551. From Law's History of 
Hampton Court Palace 1 79 

Lady Jane Grey. After a drawing by Vertue. From Wal- 
pole's Royal and Noble Authors 180 

Queen Mary Tudor, or Mary I. From the painting by 
Antonius Moro in the Prado, Madrid 183 

Philip II. From the painting by Titian in the Prado, Mad- 
rid 185 

Burning of John Rogers. From The New England 
Primer 186 

Queen Elizabeth. From an engraving by Holl of an origi- 
nal portrait in Queen Victoria's Collection, St. James's 
Palace 189 

Queen Elizabeth carried in State. From the original 
painting by Marc Gheeraedts, exhibited (1866) at South Ken- 
sington Museum 191 

Costumes of Lady and Country Woman, Time of Eliz- 
abeth. From Planche's Encyclopaedia of Costume . . .194 

Mary Stuart. From The Duke of Portland's Collection . 196 

Sir Francis Drake. From the original painting by A. Mor 201 

Spanish Armada attacked by the English Fleet, as 
represented on the ancient tapestry in the House of Lords. 
From Craik and MacFarlane's Pictorial History of Eng- 
land 203 

William Shakespeare. From "the Chandos Portrait "in 
the National Portrait Gallery 207 

The Globe, Shakespeare's Theatre. From Knight's Old 
England 208 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xi 

James I. From the original painting by Paul Van Somer in 
the National Portrait Gallery 212 

The Gunpowder Conspirators. From Knight's Popular 
History of England 215 

Anne of Denmark, Wife of James I. (showing the "wheel 
farthingale" then worn). From Planchd's Encyclopedia of 
Costume 217 

Sir Walter Raleigh. From Stalker's engraving published 
in London in 181 2 219 

Charles I. After the painting by Van Dyke 223 

Soldiers, Time of Charles I. From Planchd's Encyclo- 
pedia of Costume 225 

John Hampden. After an engraving by Houbraken in the 
Gardiner Greene Hubbard Collection, Library of Congress 230 

A Cavalier. From Craik and MacFarlane's Pictorial His- 
tory of England 235 

A Roundhead. From Fairholt's Costumes in England . . 235 

Trial of Charles I., as represented by a contemporary 
print. From Craik and MacFarlane's Pictorial History of 
England 239 

Oliver Cromwell. From a miniature by Samuel Cooper . 242 

Seal of Commonwealth, showing Parliament. From 
Craik and MacFarlane's Pictorial History of England . . 245 

Medal to commemorate Blake's Victory. From Ge- 
rard Van Loon's Histoire Mddallique 247 

John Milton. From the crayon drawing at Bayfordbury . . 249 

The Royal Charles. From Clowes' Royal Navy in His- 
tory 253 

The Coat of Arms of Colonel Careless. From Fair- 
bairn's crests 255 

Charles II. From the original painting by Mrs. Mary 
Beale in the National Portrait Gallery 256 

John Bunyan. After a drawing from life by R. White in 
the British Museum. From Works of 'John Bunyan . . .258 

Costumes of Gentlemen and Servant, Reign of Charles 
II. From Knight's Old England 261 

Duke of Monmouth. From the original painting by Sir 
Peter Lely in the National Portrait Gallery 264 

Judge Jeffreys. After the original painting by Sir God- 
frey Kneller 266 



xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

James II. From the original painting by John Riley in the 
National Portrait Gallery 269 

William III. From the original painting by Jan Wyck in 
the National Portrait Gallery 271 

Queen Mary II. From an original painting by William 
Wissing in the National Portrait Gallery 273 

William crossing the Boyne. From Knight's Old Eng- 
land 277 

Medal to commemorate Mary's Repulse of Louis 
XIV. From Knight's Old England 278 

Queen Anne. From the original painting by John Closter- 
man in the National Portrait Gallery 281 

English Flag; Union Jack of 1707; Scottish Flag. 
From Clowes' Royal Navy in History 283 

John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough. From the ori- 
ginal painting by Sir Godfrey Kneller in the National Por- 
trait Gallery 285 

Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough. From the original 
painting by Sir Godfrey Kneller in the National Portrait 
Gallery 286 

George I. From the original painting by Sir Godfrey Knel- 
/er in the National Portrait Gallery 289 

Costume of Gentleman, 1721. From Planchd's Encyclo- 
pedia of Costu?ne 291 

Sir Robert Walpole. After an original painting by Zincke. 
From Coxe's Memoirs of Walpole, London, 1 798 .... 293 

John Wesley. From the painting by George Romney . . 295 

George II. From the painting by Hudson in the National 
Portrait Gallery 296 

Charles Edward Stuart (Prince Charlie). From the 
original painting by Nicolas Largilliere in the National 
Portrait Gallery 299 

Mall in St. James's Park in 1738. From Planchd's En- 
cyclopedia of Costume 300 

James Wolfe. After a print in Entick-s History of the Late 
War, London, 1764 301 

Robert Clive. From the original painting by Nathaniel 
Dance in the National Portrait Gallery 302 

George III. After the original painting by Thomas Frye . 306 

A Revolutionary Stamp. From Memorial History of 
Boston 308 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xiii 

William Pitt, the Elder. After the original painting by 

Richard Brompton 309 

The Bastille. From Bingham's History of the Bastille .314 
Irish Flag ; Union Jack, 1801. From Boutell's English 

Heraldry 318 

Union Jack before 1801. From Clowes' Royal Navy in 

History 318 

Napoleon Bonaparte. From the painting by Paul Hippo- 

lyte Delaroche in the collection of the Countess of Sandwich 319 
Lord Nelson. From the painting, Nelson in the Cabin of 

the Victory, by Charles Lucy 319 

Napoleon's Medal to commemorate his expected 
Conquest of England. From Gardiner's Student's His- 
tory of England 321 

Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington. From an ori- 
ginal painting by John Lucas in the National Gallery, Dublin 322 
The Frigate Constitution (Old Ironsides). From a paint- 
ing by Marshall Johnson, Jr., owned by Benjamin F. Stevens, 

Esq., Boston, Mass 324 

George IV. From the painting by Sir Thomas Lawrence, 

P. R. A., in the National Portrait Gallery 328 

William IV. From the painting by Martin A. Shee . . . 330 
Stephenson's Locomotive, "The Rocket." From B. 

Cooke's British Locomotives 334 

Queen Victoria. From a photograph, 1887 337 

The Houses of Parliament, opened in 1852. From a 

photograph 339 

Prince Albert. From a photograph 340 

Florence Nightingale. From a photograph 343 

William Ewart Gladstone. From a photograph (1884) by 

John Moffat 348 

Charles Dickens. After a crayon drawing (1868) by Sol 

Eytinge, Jr 352 

Lord Tennyson. From a photograph 352 

Lord Macaulay. From a photograph (1857) by Claudet . 353 

Edward VII. From a photograph 355 

George V. From a photograph 359 



MAPS 



t-ACE 

Roman Britain , . 8 

The Older Home of the English Race 14 

Alfred's Britain, with Historical Detail a. d. 449- 

A. D. 11 54 (full-page, colored) Facing 26 

The Angevin Empire of Henry II. (full-page, colored) 

Facing 64 

Historical Map of Scotland 103 

French Territory held by English when Joan of Arc 

appeared a. d. i429 134 

Ireland a. d. 1600-A. d. 1900 (full-page, colored) . Facing 232 
England at the Beginning of the Civil War, with 
Historical Detail a. d. 1600-A. d. 1900 (full-page, col- 
ored) Facing 236 

Europe in a. d. 1825, with Historical Detail a. d. 1500- 

A. d. 1900 (full-page, colored) Facing 328 

British-Boer Wars. South Africa , , « . 349 



IMPORTANT DATES IN ENGLISH HISTORV 

THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN. 55 B. C.-4IO A. D. 

55 B. C. Caesar first lands in Britain. 

43 a. D. The Romans begin to settle in Britain. 

87 Roman forts built from the Forth to the Clyde. 

i 2 'i ? Roman wall built from the Tyne to the Sol way. 

410. The Romans leave Britain. 

THE SAXONS AND THE DANES. 4IO-I066 

449. The Saxons settle on Thanet. 

597. St. Augustine preaches Christianity in BritaiOc 

c. 670. Caedmon, the first English poet. 

735. Bede, the first English historian, dies. 

c. 829. Egbert becomes " King of the English." 

871-901. Alfred the Great. 

1013-1042. Danish kings rule. 

1042-1066. Edward the Confessor. 

1049. Westminster Abbey begun. 

1066. Battle of Senlac, or Hastings. 

THE NORMAN PERIOD. Io66-II54 

1066-1087. William the Conqueror. 

c. 1066. Tower of London begun. 

1086. Domesday Book completed. 

1087-1100. William Rufus. 

1096. First crusade. 

1 100-1135. Henry I. 

1 100. First charter of liberties. 

1 106. Battle of Tinchebrai. 

1 135-1 1 54. Stephen of Blois. 

1 1 35. Charter of liberties. 

1135-1153. Contest with Matilda. 

1 138. Battle of the Standard (Cowton Moor> 



xviii IMPORTANT DATES IN ENGLISH HISTORY 

THE STUART PERIOD — FIRST PART. 1603-1649 

1603-1625. James I. 

1605. Gunpowder Plot. 

1607. Virginia settled at Jamestown. 

161 1. Translation of the Bible. 

1 61 8. Execution of Raleigh. 

1620. Massachusetts settled at Plymouth. 

1 625-1 649. Charles I. 

1628. Petition of Right. 

1630. Pilgrims found Boston. 

1630. " Ship-money " demanded. 

1637. English Prayer Book forced upon Scotland. 

1 640- 1 660. Long Parliament. 

1642. Closing of the theatres. 

1642. Civil war begins with battle of Edgehill. 

1643. Solemn league and Covenant. 

1644. Battle of Marston Moor. 

1645. Battle of Naseby. 

1648. " Pride's Purge." 

1649. Execution of Charles I. 

THE COMMONWEALTH AND PROTECTORATE PERIOD. 1649-1660 

1649. House of Lords abolished. 

1649. Charles II. proclaimed king in Scotland. 

1 649-1 650. Cromwell's Irish campaign. 

1 65 1. Battle of Worcester and flight of Charles. 

1 65 1. Navigation Laws. 

1653. Cromwell expels Parliament. 

1653. Barebone's Parliament. 

1653. Cromwell becomes Lord Protector. 

1658. The English take Dunkirk. 

1658. Richard Cromwell becomes Protector. 

1660. A "free" Parliament called. 

THE STUART PERIOD — SECOND PART. 1660-I714 

1 660-1 685. Charles II. 

1664. Capture of New York. 

1665. The Great Plague. 

1666. The Great Fire of London. 



IMPORTANT DATES IN ENGLISH HISTORY xix 

1667. Milton publishes " Paradise Lost." 

1670. Bunyan publishes "Pilgrim's Progress." 

1682. Pennsylvania settled at Philadelphia. 

1685-1688. James II. 

1685. Monmouth's Rebellion. 

1688. Imprisonment of the seven bishops. 

1688. Arrival of William of Orange. 
1 688-1 702. William and Mary. 

1689. Bill of Rights. 

1689. Siege of Londonderry. 

1690. Battle of the Boyne. 
1692. Battle of La Hogue. 

1694. Death of Queen Mary. 

1695. increased freedom given to the press. 
1 702-1 714. Anne. 

1702. War of the Spanish Succession. 

1704. Battle of Blenheim. 

1704. Capture of Gibraltar. 

1707. Union of England and Scotland. 

171 1. Addison contributes to the " Spectator." 

HANOVERIAN PERIOD. 1714- 

1714-1727. George I. 

Scotch Jacobites rebel in behalf of the Pretender. 
Walpole originates modern cabinet system. 



1715 
1721 



1 727-1 760. George II. 

1738. Rise of Methodism. 

1 741. War of the Austrian Succession. 

1743. Battle of Dettingen. 

1 745. Scotch Jacobites rebel in behalf of the Young Pretender 

1749. Novel of home life appears. 

1752. New calendar adopted in England. 

1756. Seven Years' War. 

1756. Black Hole of Calcutta. 

1759. Capture of Quebec. 

1 760-1 820. George III. 

c. 1760. Johnson and Goldsmith write. 

1 764-1 784. Machinery for spinning and weaving invented. 

1765. Watt invents the steam engine. 

1775. American Revolution- 



XX IMPORTANT DATES IN ENGLISH HISTORY 

1783. England acknowledges the independence of America 

1789. French Revolution. 

c. 1786. Burns writes. 

1793. War with France. 

1800. Great Britain and Ireland united. 

181 2. Second war with America. 

18 14. Scott's " Waverley " novels appear. 

1 820- 1 830. George IV. 

1828. Repeal of Corporation Act. 

1828. Repeal of Test Act. 

1829. Catholic Emancipation Act. 
1 830- 1 83 7. William IV 

1832. Reform in electing members of Parliament. 

1833. Firsc "Factory Act." 
1833. Abolition of slavery in British colonies. 
1 83 7- 1 90 1. Victoria. 
1840. Opium War. 
1846. Repeal of corn laws begins. 
1848. Chartist agitation. 
1 85 1. World's Fair. 
1854. Crimean War. 
1857. Sepoy Rebellion. 
1861. Civil war in the United States. 

1869. Disestablishment of the English Church in Ireland 

1870. First Irish land bill. 

1877. Victoria proclaimed Empress of India. 

1899, Boer War. 

1 901-19 10. Edward VII. 

1902. Treaty between Great Britain and Japan. 

1908. Old-Age Pensions Act passed. 

1910. Union of South African Colonies formed. 
1910- George V. 

191 1. Parliament Bill passed. 
1914-1918. The World War. 



GENEALOGIES 



PAGE 

The Norman Kings 63 

The Angevins or Plantagenets 122 

Lineage of the Royal Houses of Lancaster, York, 

and Tudor 154 

The Tudors 210 

The Stuarts , .... 288 

The House of Hanover 362 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



CHAPTER I 
THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN 

55 B. C. — 4IO A. D. 

Julius C^sar 

1. Caesar resolves to cross to Britain. About half a 
century before the birth of Christ, a great Roman gen- 
eral named Julius Caesar set out to subdue the various 
tribes living in the country that is now called France. 
The people nearest to Dover Straits resisted him longest, 
and he concluded that some one must be helping them. 
Who could it be ? The tribes on three sides of them 
would not dare to oppose him, and on the fourth side 
was the ocean. 

At last Caesar conquered these people and went 
through their land to the sea. Off to the northwest 
there were dim, white cliffs far out on the horizon. As 
he stood looking at them, he remembered the aid that 
had come to his foes from some mysterious source. 
"That is it," he said to himself, "and if I am to hold the 
land that I have won, I must conquer that country afar 
off in the ocean." 

2. Caesar's attempts to learn about Britain. Prob- 
ably all that Caesar knew about the country was that 
it was thought to be an island, that it was called Britain, 
and that somewhere in Britain there were mines of tin. 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[55 B. C 



He asked the people whom he had subdued about the 
land, but they said that they knew nothing of it except 
that merchants sometimes went back and forth between 
the two countries. Then Caesar sent for the merchants. 



i 




DOVER CLIFFS 



"How large is this island? " he asked. "What kind 
of people live there ? When they go to battle, how do 
they fight ? What weapons do they use ? " But no help 
did the merchants give him, for they said that they went 
only to the coast of Britain, and that they knew nothing at 
all about what was inland. Caesar saw that if he wished to 
find out anything about this strange land with the white 
cliffs, he must get his own information ; so he sent one 
)f his officers across Dover Straits in a warship to see 
what could be learned about the country. This officer did 
not think it was wise to attempt to land ; and therefore, 
when he came back, he had little news to bring to his 
commander. 



55 b. c] THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN 3 

3. Caesar invades Britain, 55 B. C. Caesar deter- 
mined to go to the unknown country to see for himself 
what kind of place it was, and to conquer these people 
who had been helping his foes ; so one night, just atter 
midnight, he set sail with eight or ten thousand men, 
and by the middle of the next forenoon they were close 
to the British coast and ready to land. Landing was 
not so easy, however, as he had thought it would be; 




THE LANDING OF CESAR 



for the ships were so large that they could not go where 
the water was shallow ; hence the soldiers must jump 
out into the high waves and wade ashore as best they 
could. This would have been hard enough to do in any 
case, for they wore very heavy armor ; but worst of all, 
there were great numbers of men on the shore ready to 
fight. Some of them were in war-chariots, some were on 
horseback, and some were on foot. They were armed 
with lances and battle-axes and clubs and bows and 



4 ENGLAND'S STORY [55 b. c. 

arrows and great stones. It is no wonder that even the 
brave Roman soldiers hesitated. 

At last the standard-bearer of Caesar's favorite com- 
pany sprang overboard and called out: "Follow me, 
soldiers, unless you wish to give up your eagle !" The 
soldiers, fearing the disgrace of losing their standard, 
leaped out into the deep water and made their way to 
the shore. After a hard fight, the Britons retreated. 

4. Caesar's description of the Britons. Caesar stayed 
only three weeks ; but the next year he went again with 
more soldiers ; and this time he fought his way beyond 
the Thames. He was writing a book about his cam- 
paigns ; and, of course, he described this far-away land 
and its strange inhabitants. Most of the fighters that 
had met him on the shore had blue eyes and long, light 
hair. They wore short cloaks of skins; and, in order to 
make themselves look as terrible as possible, they had 
stained their bodies with a deep blue dye. These men 
were so tall and large that when Caesar looked at them, 
he could not help wishing that they were in his army. 
Farther north the Britons lived on their flocks and herds 
and on the wild animals that they killed, but in the south 

they knew something of agriculture. Most of 
houses 0! their houses were round; and when a man 

wished to build one, he first marked out on the 
ground the size that he meant the house to be. Then he 
set down poles close together and made them firm by 
weaving in pliant twigs. For the roof he fastened other 
poles to the top of the first and brought them together 
in a point. When he meant his house to be especially 
handsome, he peeled the poles. There were no windows, 
and the only way for the smoke to get out was through 
the little hole in the point of the roof. 

5. What the Britons could do. In spite of their 



55 ». c] 



THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN 



uncomfortable way of living, the Britons were very fond 
of ornaments ; and they made beads and bracelets and 
necklaces, some of which are exceedingly pretty. They 




WICKER WORK CORACLES OF EARLY BRITONS 



knew how to make wagons with wheels, and they were 
particularly skilful in weaving wicker work. They made 
very simple boats by hollowing out logs, and very light 
ones by covering wicker work with the skins of wild 
beasts ; but they also understood how to build boats of 
planks fastened together by metal nails. 

6. Druidism. Their religion was called Druidism. 
It was a fierce, strange belief. Part of it was exceed- 
ingly cruel, for the priests, or Druids, taught the people 
to make wicker-work enclosures outlining the cruelty of 
shape of some animal, and in these enclosures Drul,llsin - 
to offer up sacrifices of human beings. They took crimi- 
nals when there were any ; but if the supply of criminals 
failed, they then took innocent persons. 

Part of their religion was very superstitious, for they 



6 ENGLAND'S STORY [55 b. C 

worshipped serpents, streams, and trees, especially the 
oak tree ; and when an oak was found with a 

Superstl- . , . . . 

tionsof mistletoe growing on it, they were overjoyed. 
They marched to the tree in a procession, 
the Druids going first with their long beards and trail- 
ing robes. The other people followed, and when they 
came to the oak tree, they circled around it, the common 
people farthest off ; for an oak that bore a mistletoe was 
too holy for any one but a priest to touch. Then the 
Druids sacrificed two white bulls ; and, after much chant- 
ing and many strange ceremonies, one of the priests cut 
away the plant with a golden knife. 

This reverence may have been shown to the mistletoe 




STONEHENGE 



because of its possessing some medicinal value, for the 
Druids were doctors as well as teachers and priests. 
They really knew a great deal about the use of herbs in 
disease, though they had all sorts of queer notions about 
gathering them. Sometimes the herbs must be cut by 
moonlight, and sometimes when the sun was bright ; 



55 B.C.] THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN 7 

sometimes the priest who went for them must wear a white 

robe or go barefooted or cut them with a golden knife. 

Some parts of the teaching of the Druids were good ; 

for instance, the people were told not to be afraid to die, 

since they were going to live forever. They whatwas 

were taught much about the different coun- good in 

° , , . r Druidism. 

tries of the world, the stars, the cause of 
night and day and thunder and lightning. The teaching 
was not very accurate, but it was better than nothing, 
because it set the people to thinking, and noticing what 
was around them. On Salisbury Plain in southern Eng- 
land are massive stones arranged in two circles, one 
within the other. This place is called Stone- ^ 

r . . Stonehenge. 

henge, or the Hanging Stones, and it is thought 

that they may be the remains of a Druid temple. 

7. The Romans at home. When Caesar went back 

to Rome and told of his invasion of Britain, the senate 

ordered a thanksgiving of twenty days in honor of what 

they called a glorious victory. The Romans were the 

greatest nation in the world in those times, though the 

"world" meant little more than the territory about the 

Mediterranean Sea. They built handsome temples, they 

made beautiful statues, and they had great poets and 

orators and historians. They were fond of good roads, 

and wherever they went, one could be sure of finding 

smooth, firm highways. They liked pure water, and 

they spent large sums of money to bring it into Rome. 

They were the wisest makers of laws that the world had 

ever seen. To be a Roman citizen was an honor, and 

gave a man many privileges. In the days of Saint Paul, 

when the chief captain bound him and was about to 

scourge him, the prisoner asked quietly, "Is it Actsxxh. 

lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Ro- 25, 

man, and uncondemned ? " Then the chief captain was 



8 ENGLAND'S STORY [43 A. t>. 

badly frightened because he had ventured even to bind a 
Roman citizen without a trial. 

The Romans were greatly interested in Caesar's stories 
of the new country, but they had much to attend to at 
home ; and that is why nearly one hundred years passed 
before they landed again on the shores of Britain. 

The Later Romans. 
8. The Romans settle in Britain. The Romans had 
not forgotten the far-away land, however, and when they 

went there again, 
a century later, 
they founded col- 
onies, and fought 
until they con- 
quered the people 
who opposed the 
new rule. The 
Britons were good 
fighters, but they 
had not the mili- 
tary drill and train- 
ing of the Roman 
soldiers ; and al- 
though they often 
rebelled, the Ro- 
mans were at last 
the victors. The 
conquerors built 
fortyorfiftywalled 
towns ; and, wher- 
ever a town has to-day a name ending in Chester or cester 
or caster, like Dorchester or Worcester or Lancaster, we 
may be sure that it is on the site of an old military set- 




43-4i°] THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN 9 

tlement, because the Roman word for camp was castra. 
If the modern name of a place ends in coin, like Lin- 
coln, that, too, is of Roman origin, because the Roman 
word for colony was colonia. 

The Romans built large, handsome country houses. 
The walls were beautifully painted, and the floors were 
paved with marble of many colors. Around 
these houses were spacious gardens, adorned of the 
with statues and rich in all kinds of fruit that Romans • 
could be made to grow on the island. Even to-day, in 
digging in different parts of England, people often find 
pieces of statuary and vases, and ornaments of gold or of 
silver, that were once used to beautify the British homes 
of the Romans. 

The conquerors were living in luxury, but the native 
Britons were obliged to pay enormous taxes to support 
all this comfort and elegance. Many of them Homes of 
had to work in the mines or on the roads, and tne Brltons - 
to live in little mud hovels. Thousands were made to 
enter the Roman army, and some few, who were sons of 
chiefs, learned the Roman language and became officers. 

The Romans wished to be able to send troops quickly 
wherever there was need of them, and so they built two 
long roads across Britain in the shape of an X, 

. r Roman 

besides several shorter ones. They were often roads and 
troubled by the attacks of the Scots from the forts ' 
north of Ireland, and the Picts, or "painted people," 
who lived in what is now Scotland, and also by the com- 
ing of the Saxons from Denmark and the countries near 
it. To shut off the Picts, they built a line of forts across 
Scotland from the Forth to the Clyde ; but before many 
years they found that they could not defend their pos. 
sessions so far north, and then they built a solid wall 
extending from the Tyne to Solway Firth. On this wall 



IO 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[41a 



there were stone strongholds and watchtowers, and once 
in every four miles there was a fort where soldiers were 
always stationed. To keep away the Danes, there was a 
whole line of forts built, extending around the southeast- 
ern coast of Britain. 

9. The Romans leave Britain in 410 A. D. If the 
Romans could have given all their attention to Britain, 




A ROMAN WALL 



they would have been able to overcome the whole island, 
but there was trouble in Rome. The barbarous tribes that 
lived to the north and east were pressing nearer and 
nearer to the city, and the Romans must defend their 
own country. Every year fewer Romans came to Brit- 
ain, and every year some of the conquerors had to return 
to Italy. At last, in 410, soldiers and commanders de- 
parted from the island, and never again did they set foot 
on British soil. 



410] THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN II 

While the Romans had been in Britain, the conquered 
people had learned from them much that was good. They 
had learned how to make excellent roads and 

Gain from 

how to drain the swamps. They had seen that the Roman 

houses could be built that would be far more rule ' 

comfortable than huts of poles. They had found that 

it was not enough for soldiers to be brave and fearless ; 

they must also be drilled and know how to obey their 

commander, so that an army could be managed as if it 

were a great machine. The most valuable thing of all 

that they had learned, however, was that there were 

other people in the world who knew more than they, 

and other ways of living that were better than theirs. 

With this gain there was also a loss, for many of them 

had begun to feel that the way to be happy was to live in 

luxurious houses and be waited upon by slaves „ 

r J Loss from 

instead of working for themselves. Then in the Roman 
their fighting, although they were just as brave 
as ever, they had become accustomed to thinking that 
their leaders must be Romans ; and when, a few years 
later, the time came that they must both fight and lead, 
they felt helpless and wished that the Romans were with 
them again. 

SUMMARY 

Julius Caesar first led the Romans into Britain. He found 
a people that were warlike, of some mechanical ability, and 
with a slight knowledge of agriculture. Rome celebrated 
the invasion, but made no immediate attempts to conquer the 
country. 

One century later, the Romans subdued Britain as far 
north as the Solway, made settlements, and ruled in the land 
for nearly four hundred years. Their dominion may be traced 
by remains of roads, walls, and villas, and by the presence of 
a few Roman words in the English language. 



CHAPTER II 

THE SAXONS AND .THE DANES 
410-1066 

10. The Saxon Conquest. After the Romans had 
gone, matters grew worse and worse with the Britons, 
for the Scots and Picts were coming down upon them 
from the north and northwest, and the Saxons were 
coming from over the sea and landing on the eastern 
and southern shores. These marauders burned the 
houses and crops, stole the treasures, and either killed 
"The the people or carried them away as slaves. At 

2e Brit-' * ast t ^ ie sun?erers sent a piteous letter to Rome, 
ons." it was called " The Groans of the Britons," and 

it begged that the Romans would come and help them. 
" The barbarians," it said, " drive us to the sea, the sea 
drives us back to the barbarians ; and between them we 
are either slain or drowned." There were other barba- 
rians, however, than those that distressed Britain, and 
now great hordes of them were coming down upon 
Rome, so that the Romans had more than they could do 
to take care of themselves, and not one soldier could be 
spared to help the poor Britons. What should the dis- 
tressed people do ? 

The chief men met together and talked it over. At 
last one of them said : — 

"The Romans do not help us, and there is no one else 
to call upon. The Saxons are stronger than the Scots 



449] 



THE SAXONS AND THE DANES 



13 



and Picts. Let us, then, ask the Saxons to come over 
and fight for us. We can give them the island The al 
of Thanet for their home, and we shall be free to the 
from the robbers of the north." 

The strangers were invited to come. They came, 
they drove away the Scots and Picts, and they settled 
on Thanet. Before long, they found Thanet TheSaxons 
too small, so they drove the Britons away from come in 
the southeastern corner of the land, and took it 
for themselves. More and more of the Saxons came, 
and farther and farther to the west were the Britons 
driven. They were not cowards, and they resisted so 
valiantly that it was more than one hundred years before 
they were really overcome. Tennyson's " Idylls of the 
King" tell of the King Arthur who stood so boldly 
against the invaders. The end of it was, however, that 
most of the Britons were killed or else became slaves, 
while the few who escaped had to flee to the mountains 




ANCIENT JUTISH BOAT 
Found buried in a peat bog in Nydam, South Jutland. 



of Wales to save their lives. Britain was in the hands of 
the Saxons. 



14 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[5th Cent. 



11. The Saxons on the continent. These new con- 
querors had lived in Jutland and about the mouth of the 
Elbe River. They were called Saxons, Angles, and 
Jutes, but the Britons spoke of them all as Saxons, per- 
haps because the short, broad knife that they carried in 
battle was called a seax. Savage as they were with the 

Britons, the Saxons had many good traits. 
of the They were brave and warlike on land and sea. 

They had so much respect for women that 
when, in their earliest poem, a wicked woman is intro- 




THE OLDER HOME OF THE ENGLISH RACE 



duced, the author speaks of her as if he were greatly sur- 
prised that a woman should be evil. They cultivated 
the ground, lived on simple food, and were always ready 
to share whatever they had with any one who came to 
be their guest. They were not willing to live in cities, 
but wished every family to have a house with some land 
around it. Their leaders never told them what they 
must do, but they all met in the open air and talked over 



5th Cent.] THE SAXONS AND THE DANES I J 

what was best ; then they decided the question by vot- 
ing. They worshipped many gods, and among them were 
the seven from whom the days of the week are named, 
— the sun, the moon, Tui, Woden, Thor, Frea, Seotre. 
Our word Easter comes from their Eostre, who was the 
goddess of spring. 

Before the Saxons came to Britain, they composed an 
epic poem called Beowulfi The story of it is that a 
certain king had built a hall for his dwelling- Beowulf, 
place and that of the brave men who stood by ^^ 
his side in battle. At one end of the hall was poem. 
a raised platform, where the lord and his family and his 
most honored thegns, or nobles, sat at feasts. Two long 
lines of pillars went the length of this hall. Between 
them were stone hearths, where the meat was cooked in 
the blazing fires. On either side of the hearths were 
tables for the other thegns, and beyond the tables, per- 
haps separated from them by tapestry, were places for 
the men to sleep. 

In this great hall they ate and drank, and listened to 
the harpers, who sang to thern of the great deeds of the 
heroes of their race. The wife and the daughters of the 
lord often came in and passed the mead to the thegns ; 
and when one had been especially brave, a great honor 
was shown him, for the wife of his lord put a golden 
necklace around his neck or a heavy golden bracelet on 
his arm, or she gave him a sword with some magic let- 
ters called runes engraved on it, and these were sure to 
bring him success in battle. 

They would have felt very happy in this hall, had it 
not been that sometimes at night a fearful monster named 
Grendel came stalking through the mists and stole away 
some of the thegns to devour them. No sword could 
wound him ; whoever vanquished Grendel must over* 



i6 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[Sth Cent 



come him by main force. The old king and the thegns 
were in despair, when the brave young hero Beowulf ap- 
peared. He killed both this monster and another one 




SAXON BUILDINGS 

The hall in the middle, the church on the right. The nobleman and his wife are dis» 
tributing alms to the poor. 

that came to avenge the first, and so gave peace and 
happiness to the king and his thegns. Beowulf was 
loaded down with rich presents, and he went home in 
triumph with his men. Many years later, Beowulf was 
killed in an encounter with a fire-breathing dragon that 
had hidden away in a cave a great quantity of gold and 
silver, together with swords and chains and bracelets and 
necklaces. 

This poem was not written until perhaps four hundred 
years after it was composed. One harper would sing it, 
and then another would sing it as he remembered it, put- 
ting in new lines whenever he forgot, and adding to the 
story wherever he thought that he could improve it. 



449-597] THE SAXONS AND THE DANES 17 

Finally, the poem was written, and one of the manu- 
scripts chanced to be saved. 

12. Christianity is preached in England. The Brit- 
ons had known something of Christianity long before 
this ; but after the Saxons came, there was so little of it 
left in the country that people spoke of the island as a 
heathen land. There were Christians hidden away in the 
mountains of Wales • and in Ireland an eager missionary 
called Saint Patrick had told the Irish of Christianity, 
and they had flourishing churches and famous schools, 
while England was worshipping the heathen gods. The 
country was not entirely forsaken, however, for far away, 
over the sea and over the mountains, was a monk named 
Gregory, who was thinking about the needs of this land 
very earnestly. One day he had seen in the market-place 
in Rome some young Saxons who were to be sold as 
slaves. Most of the Romans had dark complexions, and 
these Saxons, with their fair skin, red cheeks, blue eyes, 
and golden hair, seemed to him as beautiful as BM „ 

& , ' 597. Pope 

angels. This monk finally became pope, and Gregory 
then he could carry out his wish that the Sax- Augustine 
ons should know Christianity. He himself could t0 En & land - 
net go away from Rome, but in 597 he sent an earnest 
missionary named Augustine to preach the gospel to 
them. 

The king of Kent had a Christian wife, and so did not 
object to Saint Augustine's coming to England ; at least, 
he was willing that the missionaries should land on 
Thanet. "Then," he said, "I will meet you there, and 
hear what you have to say about this new religion, and if 
it seems to me to be true, I will accept it." 

The king thought that these strangers might possibly 
practise magic, and for fear of evil spirits he had the 
assembly in the open air, where demons would have less 



i8 



ENGLAND'S STORY [6th-7th Cent 



power than in a house. Saint Augustine and the others 
came to the place of meeting. A beautiful silver cross 
was borne first, gleaming, in the sunlight, and a picture, 
or image, of Christ. Then came the missionaries chant- 
ing the litany. The king watched and listened intently, 
but said nothing. The strangers offered up prayers for 
themselves and for the people whom they were so eager 
to teach, and then Saint Augustine stood before the king 
i an< ^ t0 ^ n * m a k° ut tne religion of the one God. 
Kent The Saxons were never hasty in accepting any 

christian- new ideas, and the king went home to think 
ity " aoout the matter. It was not long before he 

told Saint Augustine that he believed the new religion 
was true, and that he was glad to have the missionaries 
teach his people about it. 

13. Csedmon, the first English poet. About 670. 
Churches and convents soon began to rise in the land. 
One of these convents was on a cliff at Whitby, far up 



o 




■mm 


■■■ :--:.--f: 


H 






M 


(^MguflWi 


161111 


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fi! Mfia 


mi 








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flErifi 




T-w^^^lfll^^WisfilwlL SN&. 






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''l^lll^y'fiojl* 







THE RUINS OF WHITBY ABBEY 



7tfi-8th Cent] THE SAXONS AND THE DANES 19 

on the northeast shore of England. It was the custom 
at the feasts for each one in turn to take the harp and 
sing verses that he either composed or remembered. 
There is a legend that Caedmon, one of the dwellers at 
this convent, felt so disgraced because he could not sing 
any verses that, when the harp was coming near him, he 
slipped away and went to the stable. In a dream he 
heard a voice saying : — 

" Caedmon, sing ! " 

"But I cannot sing," he said, "and that is why I came 
away from the feast." 

" You must sing for me," said the voice. 

" What shall I sing ? " asked Caedmon. 

" Sing about the creation of the world," answered the 
voice. 

Caedmon sang, and, when he awoke, he found that he 
had not forgotten the verses. The abbess was told of 
the wonderful dream ; and, after Caedmon had made 
more verses, she concluded that the new power that had 
come to him was a gift from God. His poem is about 
the creation, and is a kind of paraphrase of the Book of 
Genesis. This is, so far as we know, the first poetry 
that was written in England. 

14. The Venerable Bede, the first writer of English 
history. 673-735. For the first prose we must turn to 
another convent and to a monk whose name was Bede. 
He must have been one of the busiest of people, for this 
convent was also a great school. There were six hun- 
dred monks, and no one knows how many other men 
who came there to studv. Bede helped to teach these 
men ; he performed all the religious duties that belonged 
to a monk, and he also shared in the work of the farm. 
He says that he enjoyed winnowing and threshing, and 
giving milk to the little lambs and to the calves. With 



20 ENGLAND'S STORY [7th-8th Cent 

all this work, he found time to write much poetry, and 
Bede's many volumes about science, music, and medi- 
writinga. cuie# At length the king of Northumbria asked 
him if he would not write a history of the church in Eng- 
land, and so it came to pass that he wrote the " Ecclesi- 
astical History." It is almost the only book that tells us 




THRESHING AND WINNOWING 



about the early days of Britain, and we have to select from 
this what is probably true, and what was only hearsay 
among a people who were ready to believe anything, if 
it was only wonderful enough, This is the book that says 
there are no snakes in Ireland, and it goes further, for 
it says that the smell of the air kills them, and that, if 
a person bitten by a serpent will only swallow a few 
scrapings from an Irish book, he will be cured. 

As Latin was the language of the church and of the 
convent, Bede naturally wrote in Latin ; but he wished 
Early Eng- to P ut tne Bible into English so that the unedu- 
Ush prose. C ated people might understand it. He worked 
on this translation till the last day of his life, dictating 
the Gospel of Saint John to one of his pupils. At last, 
when evening came, he closed his eyes in weariness. 
The young man said : — 

"There is one sentence to write, dear master." 



;th-9th Cent] THE SAXONS AND THE DANES 21 

''Take your pen and write quickly," said Bede. 

" Now it is finished," said the pupil. 

"Yes, it is finished," said Bede. He chanted a few 
words of praise to God and closed his eyes. It is one of 
his pupils who tells us the story, and we may believe it to 
be true. It is a great pity that the translation has been 
lost, for it was the first piece of prose that was written in 
England. 

Bede is often spoken of as the Venerable Bede. " Ven- 
erable " is a title of honor not quite so high as that of 
"saint." It was probably bestowed upon him 
some time after his death, but there is a legend "ven- 
that, when he was old, he became blind, and erable '" 
had a boy to lead him about. This boy was full of mis- 
chief, and one day he led Bede into a desert place, and 
asked him to preach to a great crowd waiting to hear 
him. Bede preached, and at the end of the sermon the 
naughty boy was badly frightened to hear all the stones 
cry out, " Amen, Venerable Bede ! amen." 

15. Egbert, "King of the English." 829. In Bede's 
time England was divided into several districts. At 
the head of each was a king, or chief, and every one was 
trying to get more power than the others. This strug- 
gle went on for nearly a century after Bede's death, but 
at last, about 829, a king named Egbert, who lived in 
Wessex, in southern England, showed himself stronger 
than the rest, and one by one the others acknowledged 
him as overlord ; that is, they paid tribute to him, and 
promised to obey if he called upon them to help him 
fight. He took the title of " King of the English," and, 
with a very few exceptions, every sovereign of England 
from that day to this has been a descendant of Egbert. 

England was more nearly united than ever before. 
More churches and convents were built. These were 



22 ENGLAND'S STORY [9th Cent 

held sacred, and in all the quarrels that had arisen among 

the various kings, their property had never been 

the con- touched. Not only did they have vessels of 

vents 

gold and of silver, and finely wrought lamps and 
censers swinging by golden chains, and jewels and em- 
broidered vestments and beautiful tapestries, and altars 
covered with plates of gold ; but they had, too, treasures 
of quite another kind, hundreds and hundreds of manu- 
scripts, written on parchment by the monks, for these 
convents were also schools, and every one of them had 
its "book-room." There the patient monks and their 
pupils sat day after day copying books, letter by letter, 
and painting ornamental capitals in most brilliant colors, 
16. The invasions of the Danes. It was chiefly be- 
cause of the riches of these convents that trouble was 
again to come to England. The land had been overrun, 
first by Romans, then by Saxons, and it began to seem 
now as if foreigners were to sweep over it for the third 
time. These foreigners are usually spoken of as Danes, 
though the name included those who lived not only in 
Denmark, but anywhere in the vicinity of the Baltic Sea. 
The Saxons and Danes were of the same race, but while 
the Saxons had become Christians, the Danes still wor- 
cnaracter shipped the heathen gods ; and while the Saxons 
of the had learned to live peaceably on the land, the 

T^flTlflg 

Danes thought that nothing else was half so 
glorious as to set out in a little boat with a company of 
wild, reckless followers, to go wherever the waves and the 
winds might bear them ; to land upon any shore, no 
matter where ; to destroy, burn, kill, fill their boats with 
treasure, with slaves, clothes, dried meat, — anything that 
they could seize, — and carry it all back to Denmark, 
to show how brave they had been. It was a custom 
among them that one of a man's sons should remain at 



5rth Cent] THE SAXONS AND THE DANES 



23 



home to care for the possessions of the family ; and the 
others always pitied this brother, who was doomed to 
lose the wild adventure that seemed to them the only 




THE COMING OF THE DANES 



Valhalla. 



kind of life worth having. They believed that the man 
who died in peace would go to the land of the forgotten, 
but that he who died fighting boldly in battle 
would go to a beautiful place called Valhalla ; 
and there he would fight all day, be healed of his wounds 
at sunset, and feast with other heroes all night. 

These were the people who now came down upon 
England. The more stormy the sea was, the better they 
liked it. They landed in the darkness, stole silently up 
the rivers, and, with a wild cry to the heathen gods, 
burst upon a convent or an unsuspecting little village 
before the people were fairly awake. Some of the victims 
were killed at their thresholds, some even in their beds : 



24 ENGLAND'S STORY [9th Cent. 

and the robbers floated jubilantly down the stream, sing 
ing wild songs of victory, and returned to Denmark in 
boats loaded to the gunwale with booty. 

King Egbert w r as able to drive these robbers away, and 
so was his son after him ; but in the reigns of Egbert's 
four grandsons, matters grew worse and worse, 
nessof for the Danes came in great swarms. There 
ng ** " would be an alarm from the east, and before 
the king could go to the rescue, another alarm would 
come from the south. Houses were burned, people tor- 
tured or killed or taken to Denmark as slaves. If a man 
planted a field of grain, he had little hope of being able 
to reap it. Churches and convents were pillaged and 
burned. Everything that was made of gold or of silver 
the robbers carried away. The precious manuscripts 
were of no value to them, and they took special care to 
burn every one that they could find, because they be- 
lieved that the mysterious letters were magical signs that 
would work them harm if they were not destroyed. 

17. Reign of Alfred the Great. 871-901. The 
fourth of the grandsons of Egbert was a young man 
named Alfred, who was only twenty-two years of age 
when he became king. He was a great favorite among 
his people, but they were too wretched to have any re- 
joicing when he came to the throne. The only change 
was that he led the army alone instead of with his brother, 
and was called king instead of prince. 

Faster and faster came the Danes. Alfred fought 
them bravely, but their forces were too strong. The 
whole land was overrun, and Alfred could no 
driven from longer remain on the throne. As people looked 
the throne. ^ matters thenj he would not have been blamed 
if he had left the kingdom to take care of itself and had 
gone to Rome for the rest of his life, but he had no idea 



9th Cent] THE SAXONS AND THE DANES 25 

of abandoning his country. He withdrew to a swampy 
part of England, and waited, training his men, and plan- 
ning how to get the better of the enemy. 

There is a story that Alfred once had to take refuge in 
the hut of a herdsman. The herdsman's wife did not 
know who the stranger was, and told him one day to 
watch the cakes that were cooking before the fire. He 
was so busy thinking that he forgot all about the cakes, 
and the woman said, angrily, " You are ready enough to 
eat them, but you are too lazy to turn them." Another 
story is that when he wanted to know how many men 
were in a Danish camp, he disguised himself as a minstrel 
and went boldly among the Danes. There he played and 
sang and amused his enemies until he had found out what 
he wished to know. 

By and by, Alfred had gathered men enough to' attack 
the invaders, and then came a fierce battle. The Danes 
were thoroughly beaten. They agreed to re- 
main in the northeastern half of England and to of the 
acknowledge the English king as their overlord. Danes - 
The Danish word for "town" is by, and there are to-day 
many more towns whose names end in by in northeastern 
England than in the parts of the island where the English 
lived. 

To free his kingdom from these robbers would have 
been enough for one king to do ; but Alfred meant to 
accomplish a great deal more. First of all, he Alfred's 
built forts and ships, for he did not feel sure ™j|w. 
that the Danes would not come upon him again, a°ni. 
Then he built churches and convents. He sent to dif- 
ferent places where there were learned men, and offered 
them rich rewards if they would come to England and 
teach his people. There was great need of their instruc- 
tion, for during the years of trouble with the Danes no 



26 ENGLAND'S STORY [9th Cent 

one had had any thought of studying. Even the priests, 
when reading the service of the church, merely pro- 
nounced the Latin words without being able to translate 
them into English. 

It was Alfred's wish that the young people of his king- 
dom should learn to read English, and that those who 
Alfred as a could afford to study longer should learn to read 
translator. Latin ; but there were few who could spare the 
time to study Latin, and, as far as we know, there were 
only two or three books written in English, so this busy 
king set to work to translate some Latin books. One of 
them was the "Ecclesiastical History" that Bede had 
written two hundred years earlier. Another was a kind 
of history and geography of the world. Alfred did more 
than merely to translate ; for he never forgot that he was 
working for his people, and if he came to anything that 
they would not understand, he stopped and wrote a 
word of explanation. This geography was five hundred 
years old, and whenever Alfred knew more about a place 
than the author, he would add his own information ; for 
instance, the geography describes Sweden, but Alfred 
had just talked with a captain who had made a voyage to 
the North Cape, and he wrote the captain's story in his 
book. Longfellow's poem, " The Discoverer of the North 
Cape," tells what this captain related to his king. 

Another famous book, the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle," 

was begun in Alfred's reign. It brought together all 

that could be learned of the chief events that 

The Anglo- 
Saxon had happened in England from the earliest 

times, and it is thought that Alfred himself 
wrote the accounts of some of his battles. The monks 
had charge of the book, and whenever anything happened 
in the kingdom, they wrote the story of it in the " Chron- 
icle." This writing was kept up for two hundred and fifty 
years after Alfred's death. 




4 B Longitude West 2 of Greenwich C 



pth-uthCent] THE SAXONS AND THE DANES 2J 

Alfred revised the laws of the land. He was so just 
that when a man was in the right, he always preferred 
to have his case tried before the king. 

He wished to give to God half his money and half his 
time, but there were no clocks, and how to measure the 
time was a question. At last it occurred to him .„ 

/■ Alfred 

to make six candles that would burn for four measures 
hours each. Then he divided each one into e me " 
twelve spaces, and when the candle had burned one of 
those spaces, he knew that twenty minutes had passed. 
To keep the candles from draughts, he surrounded them 
with plates of horn, and so made lanterns. 

King Alfred died in 901, He had saved his land from 
the Danes, he had given her a just code of laws, he had 
begun the English navy, he had built churches, 
convents, and forts, had opened schools and Alfred. 

901 

translated books. No other king in the history 

of the world has ever done so much for his country. He 

may well be called Alfred the Great. 

18. Danish kings of England. Alfred left worthy 
sons and grandsons, but the power of the Danes in- 
creased. In a little more than one hundred years after 
his death, the English king was forced to flee to France 
with his wife Emma and his two little boys ; and a Dane 
whose name was Sweyne sat on the throne of England. 
Sweyne soon died, and his son Canute became king. 

Canute exiled or killed the Englishmen who had any 
claim to the crown or who were likely to oppose him ; but 
after he was safely on the throne, he became R U i e f 
a king of whom the English were very fond. Canute - 
He was kind and just; he rewarded right and punished 
wrong ; and he was willing to suffer when he himself 
had done wrong. In a sudden passion he killed a sol- 
dier, but instead of trying to excuse himself, he called 



28 ENGLAND'S STORY [nth Cent 

his troops together and told them what he had done. 
Then he appointed judges and demanded that they 
should decide upon his punishment They were not will- 
ing to do this, and asked him to name his own penalty. 
In those days, killing a man unintentionally was punished 
by a fine of forty talents of silver. Canute said that 
he should fine himself three hundred and sixty, and 
should add to this amount nine talents of gold. 

Of course so upright a king was praised by all around, 
and it is a wonder that he had any common sense left. 

There is a story that his courtiers told him 
Canute on J 

the sea- he was lord of land and sea, and even the waves 

would obey him. To teach them a lesson, he 
had his royal chair placed on the beach when the tide 
was risingo Then the king made a little speech : " Ocean," 
said he, " this is my island, and you, too, are only a part 
of my domain. I command you not to wet even the bor- 
der of my robe." 

Nearer and nearer came the waves, while around the 
king's chair stood the courtiers, wondering what would 
happen, and fearing lest their ruler should punish them 
for their untruthfulness. At last a wave broke upon the 
sacred person of the king. Then he turned to his cour- 
tiers and said gently : " Do not forget that the power of 
kings is a small matter. He who is King of kings and 
Lord of lords, he is the one whom the earth and the 
sea and the heavens obey." 

Although Canute was a Dane, he was very kind to his 
English subjects, and when he went on a pilgrimage to 
Canute and R° me > ne wrote them a pleasant letter, telling 
tneEng- them in a friendly, familiar way of the great 
personages whom he had met in his travels, 
and bidding his officers treat the people fairly, making no 
difference for wealth or rank. He seemed to prefer to 



nth Cent.] THE SAXONS AND THE DANES 29 

put English rather than Danes into office. He ruled not 
only over the English realm but also over the Danish, 
and when he went to Denmark, he left not a Dane, but 
an Englishman to rule England in his place. He acted 
as if he wished to show all the kindness to Englishmen 
that he could to make up for the injuries that his ances- 
tors had done to the land. One of his special Earl 
favorites was a young Englishman named God- Godwln - 
win. There is a story that while the fighting between 
Danes and English was still going on, a brother-in-law of 
Canute lost his way. He met this young lad and offered 
him a gold ring to lead him to his Danish friends. 
"Keep your ring," said the boy bluntly, "until you 
see whether I can do it or not. The English hate the 
Danes, and I may not succeed." He took the man 
home with him. They mounted two horses, and after 
riding all night, the lost Dane was once more among his 
friends. Afterwards he adopted the boy as his own 
son. Canute, too, became very fond of him and gave 
him the title of Earl of Wessex ; and it was this Earl 
Godwin whom he left ruler of England when he went to 
visit Denmark. 

Canute married Emma, widow of the king who had 
fled at his coming. She left her two boys in Normandy 
when she returned to England, and never Canute's 
seemed to care anything for them. wife - 

When Canute died, every one was sorry, especially as 
his sons were not worthy of so good a father. They 
reigned, however, for a few years, first one son Canute's 
and then the other, but the English were more s<ms * 
and more displeased with their injustice and cruelty, and 
when they died, no one mourned. They were the last 
kings that ruled over both England and Denmark. 

19. Edward the Confessor. The English began to 



30 ENGLAND'S STORY [nth Cent. 

wish to have an Englishman again on the throne, and 
they chose Edward, son of Emma and the king who had 
fled to Normandy. This Edward was a middle-aged 
man, and, since he had lived in France from his boyhood, 
it is probable that he could not speak a word of English ; 
but, as he was a good man and a descendant of the royal 
line, the English invited him to be their king, and when 
he came to them, they gave him a hearty welcome. 



SUMMARY 

At the request of the Britons, the Saxons drove away the 
barbarians of the north. Soon they killed or expelled the 
Britons also and seized the land for themselves. They finally 
accepted Christianity, but the rapid spread of civilization was 
arrested by the ravages of the Danes. Alfred the Great 
restored the land to peace and safety, but after his death the 
Danish power increased so that for a time England was ruled 
by Danish kings. 

The Saxons probably brought the poem of " Beowulf " from 
the continent. The first literature composed on English soil 
was the work of Caedmon, Bede, and Alfred the Great. 



CHAPTER III 

THE NORMANS 
1066-1154 

I. William the Conqueror. 1066-1087 

20. Edward's plan to bequeath his crown. Edward 
was so good a man that people called him "the Con- 
fessor," and many of them believed that any one suffer- 
ing with scrofula would be cured at once if he could only 
touch the hand of the sovereign. Edward seemed to think 
that a king could leave his crown to any one that he 
chose. He had a young kinsman across the water, one 
William, Duke of Normandy, from whose father and 
grandfather he had received much kindness ; and once 
when the young man came to pay a visit to England, 
the English king had promised to bequeath him the 
kingdom. 

The only man in England that was powerful enough 
to dispute this claim was Harold, son of Earl Godwin. 
It came to pass that Harold was wrecked on Harold » s 
the Norman coast, and so fell into William's «*ipwreok. 
hands. The duke treated him as an honored guest, 
but asked him to swear on the bones of one of the 
saints that he would help him to become king of Eng- 
land at Edward's death. Earl Harold was sure that if 
he refused he would be thrown into the dungeon of the 
castle and kept there till he died. Then, too, people 
thought that it was not a very great sin to break an oath 



32 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1042- i 066 



sworn on the relics of one of the lesser saints, since a man 
could give generous offerings to the shrines of other and 
greater saints to make up for it. Harold took the oath. 
Then the embroidered cloth on which the bones lay was 
lifted, and the earl was horrified to find that under it 
were the relics of the greatest saints of Normandy, and 




HAROLD SWEARS ON THE RELICS, FROM THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY 

William sitting in state to the left: Harold between the reliquary which contains the 
holy relics, and the altar, taking oath. 

that upon these he had sworn. He returned to England, 
and for many years he was a greater power than the 
king. 

Edward came to see that a king of England could not 
give away his crown, especially to a foreigner ; and when 
Harold be- ne died, he recommended the people to choose 
comes king. Harold for their sovereign, since the only living 
son of the royal family was a boy too young to rule. The 
earl had decided that an oath not taken of his own free 
will was no oath at all, and he accepted the crown. 

21. William of Normandy makes ready to invade 
England. When Duke William heard of this, he was 






io66] 



THE NORMANS 



33 



very indignant. He collected a great force of men and 
ships, off the coast of Normandy, and there he waited 
week after week for the south wind that should blow 
them across the English Channel to the shores of Eng- 
land. At last the favorable breeze came, but just as 
they were ready to set sail, a strange warship, much 
larger and finer than the others, came into the harbor. 
At the prow was the gilded figure of a boy pointing for- 
ward with one hand and holding an ivory horn to his 
lips with the other. The ship came nearer, and on board 
was the duke's wife, the Duchess Matilda, for she had 
had the beautiful vessel built secretly as a gift to her 
husband. She named it the Mora, or the Delay, 
because he had been so long delayed while wait- 
ing for the wind. William took the Mora for his flagship, 



The Mora. 




WILLIAM SAILS TO ENGLAND, FROM THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY 



and high up on the masthead he unfurled the banner that 
the Pope had blessed and sent him long before to be used 
in this expedition. 

The fleet sailed. There were several hundred ships 



34 ENGLAND'S STORY [1066 

besides many transports, but it is probable that none of 
them could carry more than forty or fifty men. 
e voyage. ^j on g. t ^e gunwales the shields of the soldiers 
were arranged, and these kept off some of the spray ; 
but there were no decks, and the ships must have been 
wet, uncomfortable places. Nevertheless, they carried 
horses as well as men, quantities of arms and provisions, 
and timber already cut and shaped to be made into a 
wooden fort. 

22. "William lands in England. The next day after 
William sailed, he landed on the coast of England at 
Pevensey, not far from Hastings. He leaped ashore so 
eagerly that he fell headlong. The soldiers were fright- 
ened, because they believed that this fall was a bad 
omen ; but the duke was too quick-witted to be taken 
aback so easily. It was a custom among the Normans 
in granting a man land to give him a twig and a bit of 
turf to signify that the land was his. This gift 
was called "seizin," and William clutched a 
handful of turf, sprang to his feet, and shouted : " No 
bad omen is this ; I am only taking seizin of the land 
that is rightfully my own." 

Not a ship had been on the sea to prevent their com- 
ing, not a soldier was on the coast to oppose their land- 
Theiackoi m £- One reason was that Harold's fleet was 
opposition, made up chiefly of fishing vessels, and his army 
was made up chiefly of men who were not only soldiers 
but farmers. When these people had served a certain 
length of time, they were allowed to go home that the 
fishermen might attend to their fishing and the farmers 
to their farming ; and they could not be brought together 
again without some delay. In the standing army there 
were only a few men, and Harold had been obliged to 
call these to the north of England to repel an invasion of 



fo66] 



THE NORMANS 



35 



the Danes, headed by one of his own brothers, who hoped 
to win the kingdom for himself. Harold hastened to the 
south, but before he could reach London, William had 
landed, had put up his fort, and had begun to pillage the 
country in all directions. 

23. Battle of Senlac, or Hastings, 1066. Then 
came the great battle of Senlac, or Hastings, October 
14, 1066. Harold had arranged his soldiers on the hill- 
side behind a barricade of wooden stakes, firmly bound 
together and strengthened with wattles, or pliant twigs. 
Some of his men were well armed and protected by coats 
of mail, but many had no armor and only such weapons as 




BATTLE OF SENLAC, FROM THE BATEVX TAPESTRY , 

Normans on horseback, Saxons on foot. 

each one could find for himself. Early in the morning 
the fighting began. Hour after hour the battle went on. 
The Normans charged up the hill again and again, but the 
English repulsed their attacks. Then William ordered 
his men to shoot up into the air so that the arrows would 
fall upon the English. Many were slain, and Harold 
himself was struck in the eye. 



36 ENGLAND'S STORY [1066 

The Normans had better arms and better military 
training, but the English had the better position. It 
Norman began to be clear to William that strategy as 
strategy. we [\ as V alor was needed to win the victory. 
Before the battle began, Harold had said to his men, 
"We are not the invaders, we are here to defend the 
land. Let no man go forth to make an attack, but let 
each one stand firm in his place and strike down every 
Frenchman that comes within his reach." If this order 
had been obeyed, it is probable that the English would 
have won the day ; but when the Normans pretended to 
retreat, some of the English forgot that a soldier must 
be obedient as well as brave, and dashed after their foes. 
Suddenly the Normans turned and cut down their pur- 
suers. The barricade had been broken through. Night- 
fall came, Harold had been slain, and William had com 
quered. 1 

24. William's election. William was wise enough 
not to claim to be king just because he had won this bat- 
tle. He called together the assembly of the chief men 
of England and asked if they would choose him as their 
ruler. Whether they wished to do so or not, they were 
not strong enough to refuse. He was appointed king, 
and on Christmas Day a most brilliant assemblage of 
English and Normans met in Westminster Abbey, which 
Edward the Confessor had built and where he was buried, 
and there they crowned William, Duke of Normandy, as 
king of England. 

25. The Bayeux tapestry. In the town of Bayeux 
in France is a piece of embroidery called the Bayeux 
tapestry. It is a strip of linen about two feet wide and 
seventy yards long. It is possible that Matilda, wife of 
King William, embroidered this with the aid of the ladies 

1 The order of events as given by Creasy is followed. 



nth Cent.] 



THE NORMANS 



37 



of her court. It tells in Latin inscriptions and in pictures 
worked in worsted cross-stitch the whole story of the con- 
quest, from Harold's coming to Normandy to the battle 
of Senlac. The pictures are such as a little child would 
draw, but it was probably looked upon as a wonderful 
piece of work. 

26. Feudalism. In those days people believed in 
feudalism, that is, they thought that all the land of a 







WESTMINSTER ABBEY IN THE DAYS OF EDWARD THE CONFESSOR, AS 
REPRESENTED ON THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY 



country belonged to the king, and that he had a right to 
give it to any one that he chose. The one who received 
it was required to pay a certain amount of money and to 
provide a certain number of soldiers to serve so many 
days every year. Bareheaded and without weapons he 
must kneel before the king, and placing his folded hands 
within those of his feudal chief, he must solemnly swear : 
" I will be your man with life and limb, and I will keep 
my faith and loyalty to you for life and death." Then 
the king would give him a formal kiss of acceptance. 



38 ENGLAND'S STORY [1066-1087 

Each one of those who swore loyalty to the king in this 
way had a number of men who swore in similar fashion 
to him, and if one proved to be unfaithful, his land was 
taken away and given to some one else. 

Many of the English promised to be true to William, 
paid a fine, and received their land again from him ; but 
The Eng- there were others who did not, and their holdings 
ush lands. f e n m to the hands of the king. He could, of 
course, claim the lands of those that had fought at Senlac, 
and these forfeitures gave him vast areas to distribute 
among the French who had come with him and had helped 
to conquer the country. He was very shrewd in this dis- 
tribution, however, and with the exception of his half- 
brother Robert, there was not one of all his barons whom 
he would trust with much land in any one district, lest 
they should become strong enough to rebel against him. 

27. William's keenness. He was mercilessly severe 
to those who opposed him*, but for those who were true 
to him he thought no rewards too great. Even the 
"Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" says that he was a just man. 
He always seemed to know exactly what to do in difficult 
circumstances ; for instance, the English in their anger 
and despair assassinated many Normans, and then 
made their bodies appear like those of Saxons. William 
straightway made a law that any dead body found in the 
woods should be regarded as that of a Norman, unless 
two English men and two English women would swear 
that it was the body of a near relative of theirs. If 
four such witnesses could not be found, the whole dis- 
trict had to pay a large sum of money as penalty for the 
murder of a Norman. 

Another decision that showed William's quickness of 
thought was in the case of his half-brother Odo, a bishop 
whom he had made Earl of Kent. When the king went 



/066-1087] THE NORMANS 39 

to visit his domain in Normandy, the English people were 
left in the power of Odo, and were treated so harshly 
that, when William returned, he was very angry, and 
arrested his brother. The bishop protested, and said 
that a clergyman was free from all penalties except those 
imposed by the church ; but William would not yield. 
" Bishop and brother I would gladly let go," said he ; 
" but the Earl of Kent, who has abused my people, he 
goes into my prison," — and into the prison he went. 

28. English grievances. While the English admitted 
that William was just, and that he gave peace to the 
land, he did several things that seemed to them most 
tyrannical. Even in Edward's reign many of the chief 
offices in church and state had been held by French- 
men, and now under William there was hardly an English- 
man in a high position anywhere in the land. Normans in 
This was very hard to bear, especially as the offlce - 
Norman masters often looked upon the English as their 
inferiors and treated them cruelly and insolently ; but 
there is something to be said on William's side, for a 
king would naturally prefer to have as his officers men of 
his own nation who could talk with him in his own lan- 
guage. There is a tradition that he tried to learn to speak 
English, but found it easier to conquer the land than to 
learn the language. 

These Normans who were in power were allowed to 
build stone castles with walls enormously thick, so that 
they might be safe against any revolt of the Norman 
natives. The strongest part of these castles castles - 
was called the tower, or keep, and here the Norman and 
nis family lived. On the main floor was the hall, or gen- 
eral living room. The windows were small, and the 
castle was often a cold, damp place, but in the hall there 
were great cheery fires, there was tapestry on the walls, 



¥> 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1066-10S7 



and here the family were very comfortable. Down 
below the hall were gloomy dungeons, where a noble 
might throw any one who had offended him and was less 
strong than he. Around the tower was a courtyard, shut 




A NORMAN CASTLE KEEP, ROCHESTER CASTLE 



In by a thick wall with a moat and drawbridge, and 1 
The Tower heavy portcullis that could be dropped in a mo- 
of London. men t if there was not time to close the gate, 

1 This is called by Professor Freeman the noblest example 
of Norman military architecture of the next generation after 
William I. 



1066-1087] THE NORMANS 41 

William had these castles built in the principal cities, and 
the Tower of London is one of them. 

There were three of William's laws that made the 
English especially angry. One was called the curfew 
law. The name comes from the French couvre- The curfew 
feu, to cover the fire, and the law decreed that Law - 
at a certain hour in the evening every fire should be 
covered and every light put out. This was an old custom 
in France to prevent the burning of houses, but it was 
new to the English, and they felt that it was nothing but 
tyranny. 

Another thing that made them angry was the estab- 
lishing of the New Forest, as it was called. For this, 
William cleared a tract of sixty thousand acres 
not far from his palace in Winchester, burning 
the houses and leaving the people to find homes as best 
they could. For whatever reason he may have done 
it, the English felt sure that it was because of his wish 
to have a good hunting ground near his home ; and they 
were the more convinced that they were right when he 
decreed most severe penalties if a man shot a deer in 
the Forest, or even if he was found there with a bow and 
arrow. "Evil will come to him and his," they said, "for 
this wicked thing that he has done ; " and when one of 
his sons was killed by a stag in the New Forest, they 
shook their heads and said, " That is not all ; it is only 
the beginning of the punishment." 

But, after all, the act that most enraged the helpless 
English was the making of a record of people and pro- 
perty in order to know the wealth of the king- Domesday 
dom and how to apportion the taxes. The Book - 
people called it the Domesday Book, because, they said, 
what was once written in it was as final as the day of 
doom. To compile this, William sent men all over the 



42 ENGLAND'S STORY [1066-1087 

kingdom to find out just how much property there was 
in every corner of it. The people were indignant, not 
only because they thought that their taxes might be in- 
creased if William knew everything that they owned, but 
also because it seemed to them a great impertinence for 
the officers of the king to come into their houses and 
demand to know just what they possessed. The "Anglo- 
Saxon Chronicle" says bitterly : — 

"It is shameful to relate that which he thought it no 
shame to do. So very narrowly did he cause the survey 
to be made that there was not an ox or a cow or a pig 
passed by, that was not set down in the accounts, and 
then all these writings were brought to him." 

29. William's death. 1087. In spite of all the in- 
dignation, the survey went on, as did whatever else this 
strong king undertook. For twenty-one years he reigned, 
and then came the end. His eldest son Robert had 
rebelled against him, and given him a great deal of 
trouble, but William left him the French dominions. 
" I pity the land that he rules," said the father, " but I 
have promised him Normandy, and he must have it." 
To Henry, the youngest son, he left five thousand pounds 
in silver ; and in behalf of William Rufus, or William the 
Red, the second son, he sent a recommendation to the 
English that they should choose him for their king. 

SUMMARY 

In 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, a relative of the 
late Saxon king, won the crown by a battle in which Harold, 
the king chosen by the English, was slain. William rewarded 
his followers with English lands and English offices. The 
building of stone castles began. Several of William's laws 
aroused the indignation of his new subjects, but the " Chron- 
icle " admits that he was just, though severe. 



io66-iioo] THE NORMANS 43 

The conquest brought to England the impulse of the bold 
Norman spirit, the greater refinement of the French language, 
and a strong government which gave peace to the land and 
did much to make a united nation. 

2. William Rufus. 1087-1100 

30. William Rufus becomes king. When William 
the Conqueror lay on his death-bed, there were only 
strangers around him. His wife had died several years 
before ; his oldest son Robert was at the court of the 
French king, a man who had often led him into revolt 
and mischief ; his youngest son, Henry, had hastened 
away to secure the five thousand pounds of silver, and to 
see that it was shut up in a safe place ; and William 
Rufus had gone as fast as a boat would carry him to 
Winchester in England, where the royal treasures were 
kept. 

He got possession of the gold and silver, but that alone 
would not make him a king, and it seemed at first quite 
possible criat he would never sit on the throne. The 
reason was that there were two parties in the land, almost 
equally strong. One party, the Norman lords, N0 rmans 
wished to have Robert, for their ruler, because v s. English, 
they held land in both England and Normandy, and with 
their haughty independence they thought that while one 
king was bad enough, two would be unendurable. The 
other party was made up chiefly of English people, and 
they felt that the less their king had to do with Nor- 
mandy, the better. 

The two parties were of almost equal strength, but 
there was a third power, and that was the church. The 
archbishop of Canterbury was a very wise man, Power of 
and he saw clearly that it was better not only the churcn - 
for an English king to rule over no other country, but 



44 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1087-noc 



for him who was the choice of the English people to 
become king of England. Therefore, the whole influ- 
ence of the clergy was in favor of William, and he was 
crowned. 

31. "William Rufus's greed for money. He ought to 
have been grateful to the church for her support, but 

his only thought 
seemed to be how 
to get possession of 
her wealth. He not 
only seized upon 
church property, 
but, what was much 
worse, he gave her 
abbacies and bish- 
oprics to any man 
who would pay him 
well. If no one 
offered him a large 
amount for a posi- 
tion, he simply left 
it vacant and took 
the income for him 
self. Perhaps the 
only good thing that 
he did for the church 
was to give her a 
good archbishop. The archbishop of Canterbury had 
died, and William in his usual fashion had left the office 
vacant so that he might have the income ; but it came 
to pass that the king was very ill, and greatly frightened 
lest he should die and be punished for the wrong that 
he had done. He claimed to be exceedingly penitent, 
and asked what he should do to prove his repentance. 




NORMAN SOLDIERS 



1087-1100] THE NORMANS 45 

"Make Anselm archbishop of Canterbury," was the 
reply. This was done, but William's penitence vanished 
with his illness, and he was so indignant at 

. . , . , , . , Anselm. 

having been induced to give up the great rev- 
enues of Canterbury that he opposed Anselm in every- 
thing that he undertook ; and finally the good archbishop 
left the country in utter despair, and did not return until 
the king was dead. In this frenzy for money, thieves 
and murderers were willingly set free if they could only 
offer a bribe large enough to influence the king. There 
is a story that the son of a rich Jew had become a Chris- 
tian. The father said to himself : " If the king should 
ask him to return to the faith of his fathers, he would 
surely yield ; " so he went to the king and gave him a 
large amount of money to ask the son to give up Chris- 
tianity. 

The young man would not give up his new belief even 
for his sovereign, and the father said to William Rufus : 
" Sire, my son refuses to obey the word of the great king. 
Therefore, I pray you, give me back my money." 

Then said the king: "And am I to have no pay for 
my efforts ? The words of a king are golden and de- 
mand golden payment. I could fairly keep the whole 
sum, but in my generosity I will keep but half," and half 
he kept. 

32. Why William Rufus wanted money. Besides 
his reckless extravagance, there were two reasons why 
William Rufus was so eager to have money that he was 
ready to starve the poor people, cheat the men of wealth, 
and force the churches to give up even their gold and 
silver dishes and ornaments. One was that he was so 
afraid of revolts that he kept a great many soldiers ready 
to fight for him at any moment ; and the other was that 
he had never really given up getting Normandy into his 



46 ENGLAND'S STORY [1087-1100 

hands. Perhaps the only reason why there was not a 
revolt was that when the English people began to find 
William unendurable, the French barons would look to* 
ward Robert ; and as soon as the barons began to seem 
determined to have Robert for a king, the English would 
support William as the less of two evils. Neither party 
was satisfied with such a condition of affairs ; but it was 
beginning to be clear that in England, at any rate, a king 
and his proud barons could not rule the country quite as 
they chose without paying any heed to the wishes of the 
people. 

William still hoped to get possession of Normandy. 
Robert was careless and lavish, and once when he wanted 
wmiam money, he had willingly sold a strip of Norman 
Ruius territory to his brother. Finally Robert wished 

revenues of to go on a crusade. The sale of a part of his 

Normandy. j and WQuld nQt su fft CCj an( ^ m order to get t h e 

ten thousand pounds that was needed, he promised to 
William all the revenues of Normandy for the next five 
years. 

33. Crusades. The crusades were expeditions under- 
taken by various Christian nations against the Turks who 
ruled in the Holy Land. It had long been regarded as 
a deed of great merit to go on a pilgrimage to Rome, 
and even greater to press on to Jerusalem. People be- 
lieved that no matter how wicked they had been, their 
sins would all be forgiven if they made this journey. 
Some even laid aside the clothes that they wore when 
they entered Jerusalem, expecting to go straight to 
heaven if they were buried in these garments. 

Aside from the religious benefits that people who 

became pilgrims thought they should obtain, 

of the there was a great fascination about such a jour- 

nniey ' ney. The travellers would see strange countries 



1087-1 ioo] 



THE NORMANS 



47 



and meet with strange people. There would be many 
opportunities to win glory and its rewards, and the 
thought of possible dangers only added to the charm ot 
the pilgrimage. It is no wonder that rich and poor, 
good and bad, were eager to go on these wonderful expe- 
ditions. 

While the Arabs ruled the Holy Land, pilgrims were 
protected and welcomed because they brought so much 
money to Jerusalem ; but at last the 
Turks became rulers, and they impris- 
oned the pilgrims and tortured them, 
or even murdered them. In 1095, 
a Frenchman, called Peter p eterthe 
the Hermit, returned from a Hermit - 
pilgrimage. He was an eloquent man, 
and when he told how much the pil- 
grims had to suffer and how wicked 
he thought it that the Holy Land 
should be in the hands of men who 
hated the Christians, thousands of 
people resolved to try to take Pales- 
tine from the power of the Turks. 
They called such an expedition a cru- 
sade, because a red cross was fas- 
tened to their clothes, and the Latin 
word for cross is crux. 

For a duke like Robert to go on 
a crusade meant more than putting 
on his armor, mounting his 
horse, and galloping away, becomes a 
There must be arms and horses and provisions, 
not only for himself, but for the servants and dependents 
who went with him. There must be money for countless 
expenses along the way, for alms-giving and for generous 




ROBERT DUKE OF NOR- 
MANDY, A CRUSADER, 
FROM HIS EFFIGY IN 
GLOUCESTER CATHE- 
DRAL. 

The figure is clad in chain 
mail, and the crossed legs 
indicate the Crusader. 



48 ENGLAND'S STORY [1087-noa 

presents to churches and shrines. One may well see 
that a duke might need to pawn his duchy for such an 
expedition. Robert went on a crusade in 1095, and for 
five years William Rufus gathered in the taxes of Nor- 
mandy. 

34. Death of William Rufus. In the year 1 100 there 
was a bright August morning when William seemed 
depressed and gloomy. Some one told him a priest had 
dreamed that the king strode into the church and in- 
sulted the cross. 

" What then ? " asked William, trying to conceal his 
misgivings. 

" Pardon, King William, but the dream was that He 
who hangs on the cross struck down him who had 
mocked." 

" That 's the vision of a priest," said the king scorn- 
fully. " Here, give him one hundred shillings, and he 
will have better dreams." 

After dinner he rode in the fated Forest. An arrow 
shot by some unknown hand pierced his heart, and he 
fell dead. Late that afternoon a charcoal burner came 
upon the king lying on the ground with the arrow yet in 
his breast. The peasant lifted the body into his rude 
cart, and the next day it was buried in the cathedral at 
Winchester. 

Not many months before the death of William Rufus, 
Duke Robert's son Richard had been killed by an arrow 
in the New Forest, and now the country people would 
go to the place where William's body had been found 
and look at the ground in silence ; then some one among 
them would say : " When one has done evil, then will 
evil come to him and to his children and to his children's 
children." 



ro87-noo] THE NORMANS 49 

SUMMARY 

William Rufus became king and was supported by the Eng- 
lish and the clergy, though opposed by the barons. Fearing 
revolts, he plundered the church and oppressed the people in 
order to maintain a large standing army. He advanced 
money for Duke Robert's crusade, and received in return the 
taxes of Normandy for five yearso He was murdered in the 
New Forest. 

3. Henry Beauclerc. 1100-1135 

35. Henry I. becomes king. It was a general reeling 
in those days that when a king died, the laws that he 
had made were no longer in force, and that until a new 
king was in power, people might avenge old wrongs, 
steal, or even murder, without much fear of punishment. 
When William the Conqueror died, his sons were away, 
trying to secure their treasures; the attend- a lawless 
ants and the nobles seized everything that they land - 
could lay their hands upon, and the funeral expenses of 
the king were actually paid by a kind-hearted knight. 

When William Rufus was shot in the New Forest, his 
brother Henry, who seems to have been one of the hunt- 
ing party, galloped away to Winchester as fast as his 
horse could carry him, for in Winchester was the store- 
house of the royal treasures, and he meant to get pos- 
session of them. There was another man, however, who 
galloped just as fast, and that was the keqper of the trea- 
sury. When Henry demanded the keys, the treasurer 
said : " Prince Henry, you have paid homage to your 
brother Robert and so have I, and I will not give up the 
keys." Then Henry drew his sword, and to save his 
own life, the treasurer yielded. If Robert had been on 
the spot, it is probable that the Norman barons would 
have stood by him, and that there might have been much 



5° 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1100-1135 




DURHAM CATHEDRAL 
Built mostly in the reign of Henry I. 



trouble ; but Robert had not yet returned from his cru- 
sade, and in a few days Henry was crowned. 

The English were glad to have him for king rather 
than his brother, for Henry was born in England, and 
had learned to speak English. Then, too, whenever 
they thought of Robert, they remembered that he was 
duke of Normandy, and was a friend of the Norman 
barons who had oppressed them. 

Every one seems to have had a nickname in those days, 
and the people called Henry Beauclerc, or the Sc/10/ar, 
Henry's because he could read and write, and only the 
nickname. c lergy were expected to be so accomplished. 
One story says that he won his fame because he trans 
lated " ^Esop's Eables " from Latin into French. 

36. Anselm returns. When William the Conqueror 
was king, he meant to rule the people, whether he pleased 



noo-1135] THE NORMANS 51 

Ihem or not. Henry meant to rule the people and also 
to please them. First, he set to work to gain the friend- 
ship of the clergy. The man who had helped his brother 
William to steal the treasures of churches and convents 
he put straightway into prison. So little watch was kept 
of the prisoner, however, that his friends brought him a 
rope hidden in a pitcher of wine, and he escaped to Duke 
Robert without the least difficulty. Henry brought 
Anselm back to England, and in a short time, the good 
archbishop began to look into the claims of abbots and 
bishops to the positions that they held. Whenever he 
found that the men were unworthy or had secured their 
honors by gifts to King William, Henry immediately put 
ether men, and generally good ones, into their places. 

37. Henry's charter. Many of Henry's deeds were a 
gain to his people, but one of them has been a gain to 
the people of England from that day to this. It was 
only the signing of his name on a bit of parchment, but 
that parchment was a sacred written promise to treat his 
subjects fairly ; and one century later, when a certain 
English king began to be unjust to his subjects, they 
brought forward this charter, and told him that the one 
who wished to be their king must keep these promises. 

38. Trouble with Robert. Robert did not easily give 
up his wish to become sovereign of England, and Henry 
was equally determined to win Normandy. The barons 
in both countries preferred Robert, because he was 
thoughtless and careless and lavish, and they believed 
that, with him for a ruler, they could do exactly as they 
chose. The church supported Henry, and Anselm 
brought it about that Robert gave up his claim to Eng- 
land, and that Henry gave him three thousand marks a 
year and a strip of land adjoining Normandy. 

Two strong friends of Robert's were in England, anO 



52 ENGLAND'S STORY [1100-1133 

although the brothers had agreed that neither should 
punish the partisans of the other, Henry at once showed 
that he had no idea of keeping the compact, and the two 
friends fled to Normandy. 

It had also been agreed that neither country should 
receive the fugitives of the other ; so when Robert heart- 
ily welcomed these two men and gave them 
vades Nor- land and money, Henry crossed the Channel to 
mandy. ta ^ e p OSSess i on of Normandy Soon after he 
landed, he went to church. The end of the building was 
piled up with all sorts of household goods and other pro- 
perty of the peasants. This was explained when the 
bishop began his sermon, for he said : — 

" King Henry, the land is full of violence. Fire and 
sword, robbery and murder are everywhere. This is 
why the defenceless peasants have brought their goods 
to the church that the church may protect them. Your 
brother Robert does nothing for the land but to waste 
its revenues and abandon it to plunder. Take up arms 
and save us." 

It was the custom to wear long hair, long beards, and 
shoes with long, pointed toes ; and the bishop began to 
talk about these, and begged the king to be the first to 
give them up. Then he produced a pair of shears and 
cut off the king's long hair, for Henry was quite willing 
to sacrifice his hair, if by so doing he could win the Nor- 
man clergy for his friends. The fashion was set, and 
there was an amusing scene, for the courtiers all hurried 
up, each one eager to be the first to follow the king's 
example. 

The setting of a new fashion was not all, for soon 
came some hard fighting. One town after an- 

Battleof . b to 

Tenchebrai. other fell into Henry's hands, and at last came 
the battle of Tenchebrai. Henry was the vie- 



rioo-H35] THE NORMANS 53 

tor, and now that he had been six years on the throne of 
England, Normandy was in his hands, and Robert was 
a captive. A prisoner Robert remained for twenty-eight 
years, and in prison he died. 

39. Henry's reforms. One thing that especially 
needed reform was the behavior of the men who coined 
the money for the kingdom, for they put so much cheap 
metal into the coins that a man who went to market 
with a pound was often unable to buy a shilling's worth 
of food. When Henry first began to realize punishment 
what troubje this was making, he was in Nor- ofcoiner s- 
mandy, but without waiting to return, he sent word for 
all the coiners to meet at Winchester, and commanded 
that every one who had made poor money should lose 
his right hand. He did not even wait to choose a better 
time for this severity, but called them together at Christ- 
mas, and within twelve days more than fifty of them had 
suffered. 

There were other men, called purveyors, whose deeds 

needed examination. It was their business to secure 

food and wine for the king and his court. This 

° Laws made 

food was looked upon as a tax, and had at first forpurvey- 

been paid without any especial grumbling by ors " 

the people near whose homes the king held his court ; 

but gradually it had come to pass that a visit from the 

king was almost as bad for any district as an invasion by 

an enemy would have been, for the purveyors not only 

took what they wished to use, but they seemed to like to 

destroy whatever they could find. If there was too much 

wine to drink, they would use it to bathe their horses' 

feet ; and if there was too much grain, they would 

trample it into the ground. When Henry found this 

out, he told the purveyors just how much food they 

might take without pay, and what price they should give 



54 ENGLAND'S STORY [1100-113$ 

for whatever more might be needed. Whoever broke 
this law was to pay a heavy fine, or even to be hanged, 
Henry was a great traveller, and held his court in so 
many different places that the decree must have relieved 
a large number of people. 

40. Severe taxation. Henry's government was in 
many ways so good for his subjects that it is a great pity 

his severe taxation should 
have made their lives mis- 
erable ; but this taxation 
was the one thing that he 
would not give up. The 
" Anglo - Saxon Chroni- 
cle" says : " He who had 
any property was be- 
reaved of it by heavy 
taxes and assessments, 
and he who had none 
starved with hunger." 
In this poverty and prL 

The long and knotted sleeves are very remark- vation StealinS" Was Car- 
ried on to such an extent 
that forty-four thieves were hanged at one time. People 
in the country suffered most, because these severe taxes 
were made no smaller even when a poor crop left the 
farmers almost penniless. It is no wonder that all 
through the thirty-five years of the reign of Henry, the 
"Anglo-Saxon Chronicle " records as a great misfortune 
a storm or a wind or a flood or a failure of fruit, or a 
sickness that affected the cattle or the fowls. Troubled 
as they were, the English were always fearful that worse 
might come ; and over and over again the " Chronicle " 
tells of strange stars or circles of light or an unwonted 
glow in the sky, or a moon that " waxed and waned con* 




FEMALE COSTUME, TIME OF HENRY I. 



noo-1135] THE NORMANS 55 

trary to nature." When there was merely an unusually 
low tide so that people could walk across the Thames, 
these poor, tormented Englishmen trembled lest it should 
presage the coming upon them of some new misfortune. 

41. Henry's marriage. Henry married an English 
woman named Matilda, a niece of the little Saxon boy 
who would probably have ruled after Edward the Con- 
fessor if he had been old enough. The Norman nobles 
laughed at this marriage, and called the king and queen 
"the farmer and his wife;" but the English were de- 
lighted, because this Matilda was a descendant of their 
beloved Alfred the Great. King Henry, too, was, through 
his mother, a descendant of Alfred ; and when a prince 
was born, the people rejoiced, for they thought that their 
next king would be a Saxon rather than a Norman. Un- 
fortunately, a few years later this prince went on a visit 
to France, and on the way home the ship was wrecked, 
and all on board were lost save one. For two or three 
days no one dared to tell the king, but at last a little boy 
was sent to break the sad news. The little fellow was so 
frightened that he burst into tears and fell at the king's 
feet. He could only stammer between his sobs : " The 
prince, O king, — the White Ship ! " The king loss of the 
understood what had happened even without white SMp, 
asking a question, and, though he lived many years aftei 
this, people who knew him said that he was never again 
seen to smile. 

42. Henry plans for his daughter to succeed him. 
He had been planning to win as wide domains as possible 
in order to leave a generous heritage to his son ; and 
even when the son was no longer living, he did not give 
up the determination that a child of his should succeed 
him, though his only remaining child was a daughter and 
no woman had ever sat on the throne of England. He 



56 ENGLAND'S STORY [1100-1135 

called the archbishop of Canterbury and all the other 
chief men of the kingdom to meet together. Then he 
demanded that they swear to make the Princess Matilda 
queen of England when he himself should die. They all 
took the oath. 

43. Henry's death. By and by there came a time 
when the sun grew dim and dark at midday, and the 
stars shone out with a pale, sickly light. The people 
were frightened. "For, surely," they thought, "this is 
in token of some fearful event that is coming to pass ; " 
and when they knew that Henry had died in Normandy, 
they were more miserable than even when they were 
suffering from his severe taxation. " He was a good 
man," said they, "though we were in great awe of him." 
They had reason to be afraid ; for, as the " Chronicle " 
says, "Every man began to rob his neighbor." There 
was no one to make these thieves and robbers obey the 
laws, and the poor people were more wretched than ever 
before. 

44, Who should rule ? Much of this trouble came 
about because Henry had been so determined that his 
daughter should rule. In a feudal country, the lords who 
held land expected to fight for the king, but they also 
expected him to lead them in battle. To be sure, the 
chief men had sworn to support Matilda as their queen, 
but they all averred that they had given this promise 
on condition that she should not marry a foreigner. 
Henry had obliged her to marry a Frenchman, Geoffrey 
of Anjou, and therefore the bishops and barons declared 
that they were free from their oath. Moreover, Matilda 
was so haughty and unyielding that she made enemies 
wherever she went. Where should England look for a 
sovereign ? 



noo-1154} THE NORMANS 57 

SUMMARY 

Henry's prompt action in seizing the crown forestalled the 
opposition which might have arisen from the barons in behalf 
of his brother. By birth, language, and marriage, he was an 
Englishman, and save for his severe taxation, he meant to 
please his subjects as well as to rule them. He issued a 
charter of liberties, reformed abuses in the church, punished 
dishonest coiners, and regulated the exactions of the purvey- 
ors. By the battle of Tinchebrai, Normandy fell into his 
hands. He was determined that his daughter Matilda should 
succeed him ; but, though bishops and barons had sworn to 
support her claims, his death was followed by anarchy. 

4. Stephen of Blois. ii 35-1 154 

45. Accession of Stephen. Matilda had two sons, 
but they were not old enough to reign. Then there 
were three young men, sons of one of the daughters of 
William the Conqueror. These young men were in Nor- 
mandy, and in the midst of the general lawlessness that 
followed the death of Henry, Stephen, the second son, 
made his way to London, and was received by the Lon- 
doners as their king. His mother had married the Count 
of Blois, so he was not strictly a member of the Norman 
line, but the first of the House of Blois. 

Stephen had spent a great deal of time in England. 
He was liked by the English, and there was no special 
opposition to his sitting on the throne. He was crowned 
in three weeks after Henry's death, and at once he gave 
the people two excellent charters, promising to treat 
them fairly and to do his best to be a good ruler. If he 
had been as strong as he was agreeable, England would 
have been saved many years of trouble, but his reign was 
nothing but contests from beginning to end, for Matilda 
had no idea of giving up her claim to the crown, and 



58 ENGLAND'S STORY [1135-1154 

Stephen was not powerful or wise enough to oppose her 
successfully. 

46. Behavior of the English barons. The barons 
supported now one and now the other. In fact, they 
did not care much who was on the throne, if they were 
only free to do what they chose. More and more castles 
were built, for Stephen was too weak to prevent their 
erection. Every noble was a king over the district 
around him, and most of these nobles were tyrants. 
Whenever they could get possession of a man who had 
any property, they would put him into one of their ter- 
rible underground dungeons, often among snakes and 
toads. Sometimes they would tie a knotted cord about 
his head and twist it until it cut into the brain ; or they 
would put around his neck a heavy iron collar covered 
with sharp points, so that, whether he lay down or sat 
up, he was in the greatest agony. It is no wonder that 
to escape from their tormentors the poor people gave 
up every penny that they possessed. The nobles would 
burst open the churches, and when they had taken all 
that was of value to them, they would set fire to the 
buildings. People became so timid that if two or three 
men came riding up to a village, those who dwelt there 
would run for their lives, thinking that the robbers were 
coming upon them. 

After two years Stephen went over to Normandy. 
The barons there expected to obey him just as they had 
been obliged to obey his uncle Henry ; but they soon 
found, somewhat to their surprise, that they were much 
stronger than this new king. They were delighted that 
after Henry's long reign they had at last a ruler who 
could not prevent them from doing just as they pleased. 
What they pleased to do was to behave as badly as the 
barons across the water, and in a short time Normandy 
had become as lawless a place as England. 



II35-"54J 



THE NORMANS 



59 



47. Contest with Matilda. All this time Matilda 
was pressing her claims to the throne. Her uncle, the 
king of Scotland, invaded England in her behalf, and at 
Cowton Moor a battle was fought, called the Battle of 
the Standard. In this struggle clergymen were ^^ rf 
the leaders, for in those days a bishop was often the stand- 

i ■• c i • .11 i r ard. 1138. 

as capable of being at the head of an army as 
of a church. For a standard they used a sort of wooden 
frame, or pillar, carried about in a wagon. 
On the pillar were four consecrated ban- 
ners, and above them was the cross. One 
of the bishops stood in the wagon, and 
he was constantly shouting encourage- 
ment to the soldiers. 

In one place after another the fighting 
went on for many years. At one time 
Stephen was taken prisoner, and Ma tiida's 
Matilda was practically queen esca P e - 
for a few months ; but she was so proud 
and arrogant that the very people that 
had most wanted her for queen began to 
desert her. At another time she came 
near being captured, for Stephen was be- 
sieging the castle at Oxford, in which she had taken 
refuge ; but one day there was a heavy snowstorm, and 
that night Matilda and a few guards dressed themselves 
in white and slipped away silently over the snow and 
across the frozen Thames to a place of safety. 

The release of Stephen had been brought about, but 
Matilda, too, had made a great gain, for her husband, 
Geoffrey of Anjou, had been fighting success- ^^ 
fully in Normandy, and his conquest of the gieends. 
duchy had made him too powerful a prince for 
the claims of Matilda to be neglected any longer. The 




THE STANDARD 



60 ENGLAND'S STORY [12th Cent 

country was worn out with righting and with a weak 
government, or rather no government at all ; both Ma- 
tilda and Stephen were tired of the contention, and at 
last a treaty was* signed by which it was agreed that 
Stephen should rule as long as he lived, and that at his 
death Henry, son of Matilda and Geoffrey, should receive 
the crown. How long this treaty would have been kept 
is a question, but the next year Stephen died and Henry 
became king. 

48. Three languages in England. During this cen- 
tury there were three languages used in England. Latin 
was spoken in the courts of justice and in the church 
service. French was spoken at the court of the king, 
and was looked upon as the language of polite society. 
English was spoken by the masses of the English people. 
The literary language was Latin. French romances and 
songs were brought from France, but an Englishman 
would have thought it very strange to write a book in 
any other language than Latin. To use English would 
have seemed to him like writing in " baby-talk," and the 
"Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" ends in 11 54 at the death of 
Stephen. 

Though English authors wrote in Latin, the subject of 
their books was almost invariably the history of the 
History is country. It may be that while the selfishness 
written. f William Rufus and the weakness of Stephen 
had shown them that what was the loss of one part of 
the nation was the loss of all, the strong, firm rule of the 
Conqueror and of Henry had given them an idea of 
what a power a united country might become. At any 
Geoffrey of rate > the men who wrote were thinking of their 
Monmouth. CO untry and writing books about her. One of 
the most interesting of these writers was a Welshman, 
called Geoffrey of Monmouth, who wrote a " History of 



I2th Cent] THE NORMANS 6l 

British Kings." There is more of legend in it than of 
fact, and in this book are found the stories of King 
Arthur which Tennyson has made into poems in his 
"Idylls of the King." 

49. Mystery plays. Another thing that was brought 
about by the sufferings of the English people was a great 
desire to know more of religion. When they were so 
miserable, their only hope was that after they died they 
would be happy enough to make up for what they had 
borne on earth. Very few of them could read, and it 
was difficult for them to understand any but the simplest 
of sermons. As so few teachers know how to speak 
simply, the poor people would have been left in great 
ignorance, had it not been for the pictures in the 
churches, and for the mystery plays. 

These pictures represented scenes in Bible history or 
in the lives of good men, and the people could walk about 
the church, and learn the stories from the pictures. 
The mystery plays must have been a very great delight. 
These plays were scenes in Bible history, and they were 
acted by the priests. They were not meant for amuse- 
ment, but for teaching. First, there were prayers ; then 
the priests and their assistants acted out the story of 
Cain and Abel, or of the creation, or of building the 
ark. At Christmas they acted the appearance of the 
angels to the shepherds, and at Easter they acted the 
resurrection. By and by, so many people came to see 
the plays that the church was not large enough ; and 
then the priests acted in the churchyard, putting up a 
high stage, or platform, so that people could see and 
hear better. When still more people wished to see, first 
the priests and then guilds, or companies of trades- 
men, drove about the city in great two-story wagons, 
stopping at certain places to act the play. The upper 



62 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[12th Cent. 



story of these wagons represented heaven, the lower one 
was earth, and below the earth was the abode of the evil 
spirits. The angels had golden hair and white robes, 
while Satan wore a hideous suit of leather, covered with 
black hair and feathers and ending in claws at the hands 




A MYSTERY PLAY AT COVENTRY 



and feet. The actors did everything that they could to 
make the plays seem real to the people ; for instance, 
when they acted the creation, they suddenly let loose all 
the birds and beasts that they could get together, as if 
the animals had just been created. 

There was a good deal of amusement in these plays, 
and in one comical scene Noah scolds his wife because 
she will not go into the ark. With our way of looking 
at such matters, they sometimes seem a little irreverent. 



I 

1066-1154] THE NORMANS 63 

When the angel brings "good tidings of great joy," one 
shepherd boasts, " I can sing it as well as he," and then 
he makes a comical attempt to imitate the angelic song. 
With all these absurdities, however, people went to see 
the plays as reverently as they went to church ; and from 
them they certainly did get a familiarity with much of 
the Bible story that they could hardly have gained in any 
other way. 

SUMMARY 

Henry's determination that his daughter should rule was 
the cause of years of strife between her party and that of 
Stephen, Henry's nephew. During most of this time, Stephen 
was nominally king, but his rule was so inefficient that Nor- 
mandy as well as England was in disorder. Finally, a com- 
promise was made ; Stephen was to reign as long as he lived, 
but was to be succeeded by Matilda's son Henry. Bad as so 
weak a government was, its very lawlessness brought about a 
strong desire for peace and a firm rule. The English thought 
more of their country as a whole, and several authors began 
to write the history of the land. 

Three languages were still used in England. Religious 
instruction was given to the people by means of pictures and 
mystery plays. 

THE NORMAN KINGS 

1. William I. 

(Conqueror), 

1066-1087. 

1 i ~~\ 1 

Robert, Duke 2. William II. 3- Henry I. Adela, m. 

of Normandy. (Rufus), (Beauclerc), Count of Blois. 

1087-1100. 1100-1135. 

Matilda, m. 4. Stephen 

Geoffrey of Anjou. (of Blois), 

I 1135-1154. 

5. Henry II. 
(Plantagenet), 
1154-1189. 



CHAPTER TV 

THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 
i 154-1399 

5. Henry II. 11 54-1 189 

51, The name " Plantagenet." The father of Henry 
II was Geoffrey of Anjou, and from this name Henry 
and his descendants are called the Angevins. Another 
name, or nickname, that of " Plantagenet," was given 
them because this Geoffrey had a habit of wearing in 
his cap a sprig of the yellow-blossomed broom plant, 
whose French name is "plante-genet." When Henry 
came to the throne, he had more land than any previous 
king of England had ever ruled. He had received wide 
domains from his father and his mother and with his 
wife, and as his territories in France were close together, 
the whole western half of that country was in his hands, 
besides all of England. 

52. Henry II. arrives in England. When Stephen 
died, Henry was in Normandy, and he did not hurry to 
England lest some one else should seize upon the crown. 
Indeed, the English people had a right to feel a little 
impatient, for it was six weeks before they had a chance 
to see their new ruler. When they did see him, they 
were well pleased. He was young, but he had already 
shown quite an amount of common sense and strength 
of character ; and the English had suffered so much 
from the weakness of Stephen that they would almost 
have welcomed a tyrant, if he had given promise of a 



1 1 54-n 89] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 65 

steady, firm government that would punish the evil and 
protect the good. 

53. Destruction of the castles. England was in a 
bad condition. For nineteen years there had been pil- 
lage and fighting. It had not been a united land, but 
rather a collection of little countries with a castle in 
every country, a baron in every castle, and every baron 
doing exactly as much evil as he chose. There was no 
question that the first thing for the king to do was to 
tear down these castles ; and tear them down he did, 
several hundred of them. Without a castle, a baron had 
little more power than any other rich man, and the people 
rejoiced when they saw the forces of the king demolishing 
the strongholds that had caused so much suffering, and 
letting the light and air into the horrible dungeons where 
prisoners had endured such agonies. Henry had a per- 
fect right to destroy these places, since for one hundred 
years it had been a law that no one should build a castle 
without the king's permission ; and the barons had had 
no permission, but had built whatever they chose, be- 
cause they knew that King Stephen could not prevent 
them. 

54. Reform of coinage. There was the same old 
trouble to meet about the coinage, for the barons had 
been coining money and using entirely too much base 
metal. They had forced the people to take the coins, 
but if a man had money in his hand, he never knew how 
much he could buy with it. Henry decreed that no one 
should use this money, and that no one but himself 
should coin money. 

55. Scutage. In the course of five years, Henry's 
government was so well established in England that he 
was able to do what no other king would have dared to ven 
ture, that is, to go away from his kingdom for four years. 



06 ENGLAND'S STORY [1154-1189 

Through his wife he had a claim on some land in France, 
and he wished to get possession of it. Where to find 
his soldiers was a question, for while by the feudal laws 
every baron who held land was required to furnish a cer- 
tain number, not one man could be compelled to follow 
the king out of the country. William the Conqueror had 
had the same difficulty to meet when he came to Eng- 
land, but he had met it by persuasions and by lavish 
promises. Henry met it by a plan that had perhaps 
more to do with the overthrow of feudalism than any 
other one act. He made no attempt to force his barons 
to go, but said to them that if they preferred to stay at 
home and pay him a tax instead, he would not object. 
This was a wise scheme of the king's, for since many 
barons preferred to remain in England, he was provided 
with a generous sum of money, and he could hire well- 
trained soldiers who wished to fight, instead of setting 
out with a company of unwilling followers. This tax 
was called scutage, because the Latin word for shield is 
scutum. 

56. Thomas a Becket. There was one man in Eng- 
land who in the end gave Henry more trouble than all 
his other subjects in both England and France. This 
man's name was Thomas a Becket. He was a person of 
great talent, great wealth, and great love of luxury and 
display. He lived in a house almost, if not quite, as 
handsome as that of the king. It was full of the richest 
furniture that could be bought, and the servants were as 
finely dressed as if they had been people of rank. To 
Hisiuxu- this luxurious mansion came crowds of guests, 
*ious me. anc } nothing else seemed to make a. Becket so 
happy as to entertain them as if they were so many 
princes. Most elaborate banquets were served to them 
of the choicest, most costly dainties that could be brought 



1 1 54-1 1 89] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 67 

to England. They feasted from golden plates and drank 
from golden goblets. 

This was a Becket's life at home. When he was away 
from home, he had even more of glitter and display ; and 
when he went as an ambassador to France, his gifts were 
so lavish, his train so long, and his manner of travelling 
so extravagant, that people gazed and marvelled, and 
thought that this could not be an ambassador, it must be 
the king himself. 

It is no wonder that they thought so, for this simple 
deacon was accompanied — if we may trust the old chron- 
iclers — by a guard of one thousand priests, a Becket's 
nobles, knights, and other followers. There Iollowers - 
were also two hundred and fifty pages. The pages sang, 
and the standards waved, and then came the long train 
of wagons, loaded to the full with offerings for the 
churches, the sacred vessels of his own church, robes and 
vestments of the richest material, heavy with embroidery 
and glittering with precious stones. 

A Becket was a special friend of the king's, and when 
Henry wished to make a law that would give the church 
less power, he did not doubt for a minute that a Becket, 
deacon as he was, would fall in with his ideas and do his 
best to please the sovereign who, caring little for luxury 
himself, had given his councillor the power to gratify his 
most costly whims. 

57. Henry's contest with a Becket. It had been the 
custom for a clergyman to be tried by the church and 
not by the regular courts of justice. The penalties in. 
flicted by the king's courts were very severe. They 
made nothing of cutting off people's hands or feet or of 
putting out their eyes, for crimes that we should punish 
to-day by a short imprisonment. The church, church or 
on the other hand, rarely punished a clergyman court? 



68 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1154-1189 



in any other way than by giving him a position of less 
honor or by depriving him of his income for a certain 
time. The clergy did not approve of these cruel punish- 
ments and protected as many people from them as possi- 
ble. As a general thing, no one but a priest was expected 
to know anything of books, and little by little it had come 




A BECKET DISPUTING WITH HENRY II. 
The king to the left seated on his throne, a Becket attired in his pontifical habit and hold- 
ing the cross in his hand. 

about that whoever could read and write was looked upon 
as a clergyman, and no matter what crime he had com- 
mitted, he was free from the punishment that other men 
would have had to suffer. 

Henry meant to take away this privilege and to treat 
a Becket as a ^ men alike when it came to a question of 
archbishop, keeping the laws ; and with this plan in mind, 



ri54-n89] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 69 

he made a. Becket archbishop of Canterbury. He was 
greatly surprised when the new archbishop seemed sud- 
denly to have become another man. This lover of luxury 
put on the dress of a monk. He wore rough haircloth 
next to his skin and scourged himself every day. Instead 
of nobles, he entertained beggars, washing their feet and 
sitting at the same table with them. He ate the coarsest 
of food, and drank bitter water instead of his dainty 
wines. 

Henry was amazed, but he said to himself with a quiet 
smile : " A Becket always did like to make a display, 
and now he is exhibiting himself as a saint. He will 
change again before long." 

Soon the test came. A priest had committed a most 
shocking murder, and Henry demanded that he be tried 
in court. The archbishop replied that the man Henry » s 
had been tried by the church and degraded from flemand - 
his office, and that he could not be tried again for the 
same offence. Then Henry called the clergy together 
and laid the matter before them. "Will you submit 
to the ancient laws and customs of the kingdom ? " he 
asked. 

A Becket, as holder of the highest office in the 
church was the one to reply, and this is what he said : 
" We will observe them, saving the privileges of our 
order," a reply which promised exactly nothing at all. 
So the struggle went on. The king believed ABecket's 
that he was upholding justice, the archbishop reply - 
believed that he was upholding the rights of the church. 
Finally a Becket had to flee. 

Henry meant that his son should succeed him without 
any opposition, and, therefore, he had the young man 
crowned and associated with him in the govern- E XCOm mu- 
ment. It had become a custom for the arch- Nation. 



7o 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1154-1189 



bishop of Canterbury to perform the ceremony of coro- 
nation, and when in his exile a Becket learned that the 
king had been crowned by the archbishop of York, he 
felt this as another insult, and straightway brought it 
about that the Pope excommunicated several councillors 
whom a Becket thought in fault. This excommunication 




THE SCENE OF A BECKETT'S MURDER IN CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL 



cut them off from the church and its sacraments. They 
were really made outcasts, for those who aided and 
sheltered them were threatened with the same penalty. 
It was declared formally that if they did not repent and 
receive pardon of the church before they died, they 
would perish eternally. 

Even after this there was so much of a reconciliation 



1 1 54-1 1 89] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 71 

between a Becket and Henry that the archbishop re- 
turned to England. Henry was in France, and the next 
news brought him was that a Becket had persuaded the 
Pope to excommunicate several bishops who had assisted 
at the coronation of the prince. 

58. A Becket's murder. When Henry was really 
angry, he was almost like a madman, and now he called 
out in a fury : " Will no one deliver me from this inso- 
lent priest ? " He always declared that he did not mean 
that he wished a Becket to be murdered, but there were 
four men who so understood the speech. They set off 
for Canterbury and struck down the archbishop in the 
church. The whole land was aghast. The priest who had 
been killed at the very altar was looked upon as a saint. 
Henry was frightened, and he was sincerely sorry for 
the words that he had spoken in his anger, and whose 
consequences had been so far beyond his thought. He 
gave up every point upon which he and the dead arch- 
bishop had differed. The Pope believed in his penitence 
and granted him forgiveness. 

59. Henry's penance. About this time all kinds of 
troubles came upon the land, — invasion, revolt, tempest. 
Both Henry and his people believed that this was in 
consequence of the murder, and that the king must do 
more to prove his penitence. Henry mounted his horse 
and rode to the town of Canterbury. Then he put on a 
woolen shirt and a coarse cloak and walked barefoot over 
the rough stones of the streets to a Becket's tomb in the 
cathedral. Here he knelt and prayed. Then bishops, 
abbots, and the eighty monks took a rod, each in turn, 
and the powerful king, who for twenty years had ruled 
England and Normandy as he would, now dropped his 
cloak and received a blow from the hands of every one 
present. 



72 ENGLAND'S STORY [1154-1189 

After this the people felt that Henry had really been 
forgiven, especially as within a few days one invader was 
conquered on land and another driven back over the sea. 
A very beautiful shrine was made at Canterbury, and 
here the bones of a Becket were placed. Many churches 
throughout Europe begged for even the smallest relic of 
him, and many thousands of people came from far-away 
countries to kneel before his shrine. 

60. English rule in Ireland. At the time when 
Henry's messengers were in Rome trying to secure the 
Pope's pardon for their sovereign, the king himself 
thought that with all the hatred aroused against him, it 
would be as well for him to be out of the country, and he 
was glad that it seemed necessary for him to go to Ire- 
land. 

This island was divided into provinces, and there was 
one chief, or king, for each province, and also one to 
whom the others paid some general deference as to an 
overlord. One of these kings, driven out of the land for 
bis wrongdoing, had paid homage to Henry, and obtained 
his permission to enlist Englishmen to help regain the 
throne. The most powerful man that he secured was an 
earl who was nicknamed Strongbow. The English forces 
were successful, and when this king died, Strongbow, who 
had married the princess, became king in his place. Of 
course it did not please Henry to have one of his subjects 
king in the island, for he had meant to gain the power 
there for himself. Then it was that he went to Ireland. 
He had many ships, and they were well filled with soldiers. 
Strongbow was alarmed and did homage, as did many of 
the Irish princes. English rule was established, but in 
*he w Eng- on ly a portion of the island, known from this as 
UshPaie." the a English Pale." When Strongbow died, 
Henry sent his own son John to rale the island. Henry 






I154-H89] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 73 

had treated the Irish chieftains with courtesy and atten- 
tion, but John, a silly boy of twelve years, made fun of 
their homely dress and encouraged his attendants to in- 
sult them. In a year the insolent boy was recalled to 
England. 

61. Henry's judicial reforms. After Henry felt him- 
self fully pardoned for the death of the archbishop, he 
went on with a reform in the courts of justice that his 
grandfather, Henry I., had planned. The early Saxon 
way of proving a man's innocence of a crime was to 
require him to plunge his arm into boiling water or to 
carry a red-hot iron so many paces. If after a certain 
number of days the arm was well or was healing healthily, 
the man was called innocent, because it was claimed that 
God had protected him. In the same belief that God 
would clear the innocent, the Normans had introduced 
the usage of requiring two men who had differed to fight 
a duel. Then it became a custom for each baron to hold 
a sort of court, but as the baron was responsible to no one 
for the justice of his decisions, there was every tempta- 
tion to give the case to the one that feed him most 
generously. Henry strove to have justice administered 
fairly throughout the land ; and to bring this about, he 
divided his kingdom into districts, and sent his judges 
through them at stated times. 

62. Henry's sons rebel. It seemed to be the fate of 
the Norman kings to meet nothing but ingratitude from 
their children. Henry II. had four sons, and it was his 
plan that the eldest should be king of England, that 
the next two should hold wide domains in France, and 
that the youngest should rule over Ireland. The eldest 
claimed his inheritance at once. He would have either 
England or Normandy, he said. The queen favored 
J;he demand, and with his mother's sympathy the young 



74 ENGLAND'S STORY [1189 

man fled to France, accompanied by two of his brothers. 
These two boys, one fifteen and one fourteen years of 
age, had also demanded of their father the land that he 
had intended for them at his death. They rebelled, and 
with the king of France they planned an attack upon 
England. Henry was then ill, but when he was told of 
this revolt, he said : " I have one comfort left. My son 
John has never conspired against me. Give me the list 
of the rebels." Behold, at the very head of the list was 
the name of Prince John. " Let things go as they will," 
said the broken-hearted king. " I have nothing more to 
care for ; " and in two days he died. 

63. The Holy Grail. In these different reigns, under 
kings good or bad, strong or weak, the country was grad- 
ually working her way upward and onward. A writer 
now appeared, one Walter Map, who wrote on the same 
subject that was chosen by Geoffrey of Monmouth, but 
Map made poems of the old crude legends. One of his 
stories that of the Holy Grail, came from the Conti- 
nent. The Grail was the cup used by Christ at the Last 
Supper. The legend is that it was carried to Pilate, who 
gave it to Joseph of Arimathea. Joseph brought it to 
Glastonbury in England, and there it was to remain as 
long as its guardians were pure and good. At last the 
time came when one was unworthy of his trust, and the 
cup vanished, though it might sometimes be seen by 
those that were holy in thought and deed ; and in the 
stories of King Arthur it was a favorite quest of the 
knights to ride the world over and meet all hardship and 
all adventure in the hope of once having a glimpse of the 
sacred vision. Tennyson describes its appearance to a 
nun whose heart was pure and holy. There was first 
the sound of beautiful music coming nearer and nearer,' 
then, — 



1189J THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 75 

" Streamed through my cell a cold and silver beam, 
And down the long beam stole the Holy Grail, 
Rose-red with beatings in it, as if alive, 
Till all the white walls of my cell were dyed 
With rosy colors leaping on the wall; 
And then the music faded, and the Grail 
Past, and the beam decayed, and from the walls 
The rosy quiverings died into the night." 

64. The Grail and the crusades. It is easy to see 
how this story became such a delight to the people of 
that time, for it was just in line with what was coming 
to be in their thoughts more and more, and that was 
the crusades. The first crusade had not aroused a great 
amount of interest in England ; but two years before the 
death of Henry, news came that Jerusalem, which had 
been in the hands of the Christians, had again fallen 
under the rule of the Saracens. All England was ex- 
cited, and the king himself was prevented from becom- 
ing a crusader only by the advice of his council and the 
revolt of his son Richard. It was the idea of an earthly 
journey and some very earthly fighting, resulting withal 
in great religious gain, that made the story of the Holy 
Grail so intensely interesting to the men of the crusad- 
ing days. The knights of King Arthur had journeyed 
and had fought for religious gain ; so would they, too, 
journey and fight that they might attain the heaven whose 
gates would open wide to the man who had striven to 
win the earthly Jerusalem. As men heard the story of 
the Grail, they were eager for the crusade ; and all who 
longed to make the great journey listened the more in- 
tently to the words of the poet. 

SUMMARY 

Henry II. ruled his wide domains well. He tore down the 
castles of the tyrannous barons and brought order into the 



7 6 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1189-1199 



land. His offer to receive scutage struck a blow at feudalism. 
He substituted what developed into trial by jury for trial by 
combat, and he strove to treat all men as equal before the 
law. In this reign the English conquest of Ireland began. 

6. Richard Cceur de Lion. 1189-1199 
65. The ideal gentleman. The ideal gentleman of 
that day was the knight. He must serve a long appren 
ticeship in some friendly castle, first, as a page, whose 

business was above all 
things to learn to be 
obedient and courte- 
ous. Then he became 
a squire, and his duty 
was to attend upon 
the lord of the castle, 
carve his meat and fill 
his wine-cup, carry his 
shield or helmet, give 
him a lance if his was 
broken in a tourna- 
ment, help him to 
mount if he was 
thrown from his horse 
in his heavy armor, 
and drag him out 
of battle if he was 
wounded. 

66. Ceremony of 
becoming a knight. After seven years as a squire, he 
himself might become a knight, but he must first spend 
a day and a night in a church, fasting and praying. 
Then, in the presence of his friends and others, he 
solemnly promised to be loyal to the king, to defend 




A SQUIRE BECOMING A KNIGHT 
Girding on of the sword and fastening of the spurs 



1 1 89] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 77 

the church, and to protect every lady that might need 
his aid. After he had promised, some lady of high rank 
buckled on his spurs and girded on a sword that had 
been blessed by the priest. Then the prince or some 
noble struck him lightly on the shoulder with the flat 
of the sword, saying, " In the name of God, Saint 
Michael, and Saint George, I dub thee knight. Be brave, 
ready, and loyal." Young noblemen became knights as 
a matter of course, and no one thought highly of even a 
king unless he had all the knightly virtues and accom- 
plishments. 

67. The good and the bad in knighthood. In some 
ways knighthood was good. Men were more interested 
in fighting than in anything else, and this training taught 
them not to be so brutal in their fighting, to be generous 
to their enemies, to be courteous to women, to respect 
age and authority, and to care for music and poetry. 
On the other hand, the knight was not required to be 
courteous to people of lower rank than himself, and he 
was as rough as ever when he was dealing with those 
whom he thought his inferiors. It is stated that at a 
great tournament, or mock-fight, in which three thou- 
sand men contended, the knights that were hurt were 
taken care of, but no one thought it worth while to do 
anything for those of their humbler followers who were 
wounded. 

68. Richard Cceur de Lion. Richard, King Henry's 
third son, was an ideal knight, and although he was an 
exceedingly poor king, whose only notion of ruling a 
country was to get as much money from it as possible, 
yet, because he was a brave knight, people could never 
praise him enough. They called him " Cceur de Lion," 
or the " Lion-Hearted," and were never tired of singing 
songs about him and his warlike deeds. He reigned ten 



7S 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[i 190 



years, but during only a few months of the time was he 
in England. All his early life he had spent in France, 
and he could not even speak the English language. 

69. Richard as a crusader. When King Henry II. 
died, Philip, king of France, and Leopold, duke of Aus- 
tria, were planning to go on a crusade. 
Richard wished to go with them, and no 
sooner had he been crowned than he set 
to work to raise the necessary funds. 
He taxed his people severely, extorted 
money from the Jews, sold bishoprics and 
other offices to any one that would pay 
for them, and granted various privileges 

to the towns for large amounts 

of gold. This was a good thing 

towns, for each new privilege 
of the king was described in 

and the writing was signed by 
him, so that every bit of parchment that 
a town gained made it a little more free 
than it had been before. 

The three young men set off" on thejr a knight templar 
crusade with a great flourish of banners 

and long trains of followers ; but 

they had not been many weeks 
in the Holy Land before Philip began to feel that Richard 
was gaining all the glory of the expedition. Moreover, 
now that Richard was king, he was not so yielding as he 
had been when Philip was helping him to conspire against 
his father. The result was that Philip went home and 
left Richard to get along as best he could. Then 
Leopold raised his standard over a captured city, and 
Richard tore it down, saying that a king's standard came 
before a duke's. Richard was always in the midst of his 



Raising 
money. 

for the 
bought 
writing, 




The cru- 
sade fails 



OF THE TIME OF 
RICHARD I. 

From an effigy in Salis- 
bury Cathedral 



1193] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 



79 



men, and he was not at all afraid to put his own hands 
to whatever work they were doing. He was once help- 
ing them to build a fort, but when he asked Leopold to 
join in the work, the duke was angry and said that he 
was neither a mason nor a carpenter. Richard struck 
him, and he went home in a rage. The English king had 
not men enough to conquer the Saracens, so he, too, had 
to go home. He went on his way sadly, for he knew 
that if it had not been for his hot temper, Jerusalem 
might have been in the hands of the Christians. 

On the way home he was wrecked and had to go 
through Austria, and although he was in dis- Ri C hardis 
guise, some one found him out. Leopold put imprisoned, 
him into prison, and soon gave him into the hands ot 
the emperor of Germany, and for 
a long while no one knew where 
he was. There is a story that 
a minstrel of Richard's court, 
named Blondel, roamed about 
wherever he thought his king 
might be. He would sing under 
the window of every prison ; and 
at last, when he stood one day 
by a gloomy stone tower, singing 
a song that he and Richard had 
often sung together, he was de- 
lighted to hear his master's voice 
take up the air and sing the second 
verse. 

70. Richard is ransomed. 
There were two men who were 
anxious to keep Richard in prison. 
One was Philip of France, for 
he thought that if Richard was 




RICHARD 1. IN PRISON 



80 ENGLAND'S STORY [1190-1199 

a prisoner, he himself would have a good opportunity 
to get possession of Normandy ; and the other was 
Richard's younger brother John, for he thought that if 
Richard was out of the way, no one would interfere with 
his own rule in England. These two men went about 
their schemes. Philip accused Richard of various crimes, 
and John offered the emperor twenty thousand pounds a 
month to keep his brother in confinement. Richard, 
however, soon proved his innocence of the crimes, and 
the emperor agreed to set him free for a ransom. This 
ransom was so large that it was hard for England to 
find the money, but the English were proud of their 
crusader king, and it was raised. Richard returned to 
England for a short time and received a hearty welcome 
from his subjects, for, however he might extort money 
from them, he was still their ideal knight. 

71. Richard's character. A story told of the last 
scene of his life is characteristic of him in his cruelty, 
his generosity, and his determination to get what he 
thought was his own. Treasure had been found in the 
land held by one of his vassals, who refused to follow 
the custom and give it up to the king. Richard besieged 
the castle, and would not grant any terms of surrender. 
When the castle fell, he ordered every man to be hanged 
excepting the archer who had wounded him. This man 
was brought into his presence, and the king asked : 
" How have I harmed you, that you should kill me ? " 

The young man replied stoutly : " My lord king, you 
killed my father, you killed my two brothers, and you 
meant to kill me. Revenge yourself on me as you will, 
since at last you have come to your end after you have 
for so many years inflicted evil upon the world." 

The king had long before forgiven his treacherous 
brother John, and now, though he was suffering in« 



1199] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 



8l 



tensely from the wound, which he knew would end his 
life, he was still generous and bade his soldiers set the 
young man free. 




MILITARY AND CIVIL COSTUME IN THE TIME OF RICHARD I. 



SUMMARY 

The knight was the ideal gentleman of the time, and Rich- 
ard was the ideal knight. The story of his reign circles 
around his career as a crusader. To raise money for the 
crusade, he sold many privileges to the wealthy towns, so 
that at the end of his reign of ten years they held as their 
most valued possessions charters which secured to them a 
great increase of liberty. 



82 ENGLAND'S STORY [i 199-1207 

7. John Lackland. 1199-1216 

72. The murder of Arthur. Richard had left no 
children, and now John, youngest son of Henry II., be- 
came king, though no one really wished to have him for 
a ruler. A brother older than John had left a boy, 
named Arthur, for King Arthur of the Round Table, but 
he was only twelve years old, and the chief men of Eng- 
land were afraid that there would be war if a child was 
on the throne. John was jealous of Arthur, and in three 
or four years the boy disappeared so suddenly that peo- 
ple felt sure that John had murdered him. 

It had long been the custom for the king of France to 

be a sort of overlord of the French lands of the duke of 

Normandy, though sometimes the duke was 

John s J ° 

punish- the more powerful of the two men. Philip now 

sent a formal summons to John, as duke of 
Normandy and therefore vassal of the French king, to 
appear before the French court to answer for the murder 
of Arthur ; and as he did not come, Philip punished 
him by taking possession of more than half of the Eng- 
lish king's lands in France. It is perhaps because of 
this that John received his nickname of " Lackland." 

73. John's quarrel with the church. John's next 
trouble was with the church. The archbishop of Canter- 
bury had died, and it was a question whether the man 
that the king chose or the man that the Pope chose 
should have the position. The Pope's choice was Ste- 
phen Langton, an upright, learned man of sound judg- 
ment and utter fearlessness of spirit. John refused to 

receive him. The Pope placed the kingdom 
Interdict. r l ° 

under an interdict. The churches were draped 

with black, and their doors were closed. The dead 

could not be buried in consecrated ground, and no mar- 



1213] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 83 

riage could be solemnized within the walls of the church. 
This was the state of England for four .years. Then the 
Pope excommunicated the king, and commissioned Philip 
to seize the English crown. At this, John yielded, and 
was ready to make any promise and pay any amount, if 
only he might keep his position. 

74. John's cruelty and injustice. Philip could have 
made very little trouble for John if the English king had 
not all this time been treating his subjects so badly that 
some of them began to think they would rather have 
Philip for a ruler, and no one knew whether they would 
stand by their king or not. The charters that had been 
given to London and to other cities John had refused 
to respect, and he had forced many of the barons to give 
him large sums of money. The Jews especially had 
suffered in his determination to get their wealth. There 
is a record that one of them had borne agonizing torture 
without yielding to the unjust demands of the king, and 
finally John ordered one of his victim's teeth to be 
knocked out every day until he should give up his gold. 
The poor man submitted, after losing a tooth every morn- 
ing for seven days. John had been as rapacious with 
the poor as with the rich, for he would even take away 
a man's tools by which he earned his bread, if the man 
could not pay the sum demanded. Men had been put 
into prison and refused a trial. Indeed, the only sure 
way to win a case was, not to have a just cause, but to 
make the king a present of money, horses, a suit of 
clothes, or even poultry or fish ; for this king, who would 
extort so great sums from the rich, did not scorn the 
smallest trifles, if a man could be forced to give nothing 
more. In punishing any misdeed, he would demand as 
large a sum as could be forced from the man accused. 
He taxed people, not by any regular law, but for as much 
as he could get. 



84 ENGLAND'S STORY [1213-1215 

75. John asks for absolution. When Archbishop 
Langton came to England, John went to him to ask for 
absolution, or the pardon of the church. The archbishop 
had learned just how John's subjects were suffering 
from his cruel treatment, and he boldly refused pardon 
until the king should promise to obey the laws of his 
ancestors and treat his people justly. 

76. Quarrel with the barons. John promised with- 
out a moment's hesitation, but he soon showed that he 
had not the slightest idea of keeping his word. The 
fearless archbishop called together the clergy, barons, 
and other prominent men to meet in a church in London. 
When the other business of the meeting was ended, 
Langton told some of the barons that he had found the 
charter that Henry I. had given to his people a century 
before. 

The barons seemed to have forgotten all about this 
charter, and they were delighted to find that they had 
The lost so g°°d a weapon. "When King John sees 
charter. this," said they, "he will never dare to refuse 
what his great-grandfather promised so long ago." Then 
the charter was read aloud, and there before the altar 
the barons and the archbishop promised one another that 
they would stand by their rights. These barons were 
much more patient than those of the days of William the 
Conqueror, for they agreed to wait one year to see if the 
king would not improve. 

The year passed, and then they again met in a church 
and took a solemn oath that if the king refused them 
The barons' justice they would make war upon him. Even 
oath. after this they waited until Christmas. Then 

they went to John and asked him to repeat before the 
nation the promises that he had made to Langton when 
he received absolution. John was badly frightened, but 



1215] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 



«5 



he contrived to put them off till Easter. He thought 
that there would be some way out of the trouble by that 
time ; but at Easter he was in an even more hopeless 




MAGNA CARTA ISLAND, RUNNYMEDE. 



condition than before, for now there was a great army 
all ready to fight against his tyranny. 

What could he do ? A king who would treat his sub- 
jects so unjustly would not hesitate to deceive them ; 
and when John found that he must yield, he John 
sent a polite message to the barons, saying that y ields - 
he was willing to me'jt them wherever they wished and 
to promise them whatever they desired. 

77. June 15, 1215. Magna Carta. The barons re- 
quested him to come to Runnymede, a meadow on the 
Thames near Windsor, and there, June 15, 12 15, he 
signed his name and affixed his seal to a piece of parch- 
ment that is now, brown, shriveled, and torn, in the 
British Museum. This is the famous Magna Carta, or 



86 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1215 



Great Charter, and just as the charters of towns secured 
for them many rights, so this secured for the whole Eng 
lish nation the right that their ruler should treat them 
justly. 

The people were delighted, for they hoped that John 
would keep his word, and that England would now be 
happy and peaceful ; but the king went into a perfect 
fury of rage. He threw the furniture about, and rolled 
over the floor like a madman, gnashing his teeth and 
biting at sticks and straws. 

What were these promises which John had to sign 
and which, he said, made him " no longer a king but a 
The pro- slave " ? One was that he would not delay jus- 
misesof t j or t3 ^ e bribes ; another, that all fines for 

Magna ' 

Carta. misdeeds should be fixed by law ; another, that 

he would impose no taxes without the consent of his 
council ; another, that he would give up his custom of 
seizing a large share of the property that any noble left 
when he died, for before this, John had been in the habit 
of taking as much as he chose, and if there were young 
children, he would take nearly all the income of the estate 



AukeM-Xuk j&juo m^V(M^ec&* eunii&Wiu* A* ton* lafeemJtmfrg &- 

FACSIMILE EXTRACT FROM MAGNA CARTA 



I2i6] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 87 

till the children were grown up. The most important 
pledge was that no free man should be imprisoned or 
punished in any way except by the lawful judgment of 
his equals. The barons on their part promised that they 
would treat their vassals just as they had made the king 
agree to treat them. 

The barons feared that John would not keep his pro- 
mises, so they had drawn up another paper giving them 
the right to take his castles and lands and an- The 
noy him by every means in their power if he overl °rds. 
broke his word. And John had to sign this too ! Twenty- 
five overlords were specially appointed to keep watch of 
him. This charter was sent throughout the kingdom 
and was read aloud in all the churches. 

78. John's revenge. John was in a fury and went off 
to the Isle of Wight to think what he could do to revenge 
himself on the barons. No one in England would help 
him, so he sent to the Continent and hired foreign sol- 
diers to come over and fight for him. At first this plan 
seemed to be successful, for by their aid he took several 
strong castles from the barons ; but it was worse for him 
in the end, for these soldiers were so cruel and wicked 
that the whole English nation hated John more than 
ever for bringing such people into the land. 

79. The Dauphin comes. Again the barons met, and 
this time they were in such despair that they could think 
of nothing else to do but to invite the Dauphin, eldest 
son of King Philip of France, to be their ruler. He had 
married John's niece, so they tried their utmost to feel 
that he would really be an English king. The Dauphin 
was delighted to come, but he and his men behaved worse 
than the other foreign soldiers. They took possession of 
goods and castles, and even began to think of banishing 
the barons who had invited them to come. 



88 ENGLAND'S STORY [1199-1216 

80. John's death. Between John and the French- 
men the barons hardly knew what to do, but just then 
John suddenly died. It is said that when he was cross- 
ing a dangerous place on the seashore, a high tide swept 
away quantities of the treasure that he was carrying with 
him, and that even his crown went under the waves. 
John had not been in the least penitent for the wrong 
that he had done his people, but he was so sorry to lose 
his treasure that he fell into a fever and died. 

Wicked man as John was, it was an excellent thing for 
England that he had been its king, for if a man only half 
as bad had stood in his place, the barons would not have 
been aroused to make him sign the Great Charter. Sev- 
eral kings since the days of John have tried to deal 
unjustly with the nation, but in the end the English peo- 
ple have either driven them from the throne, or made 
them yield and keep the promises of the Charter. 

SUMMARY 

John's supposed murder of his nephew brought about the 
loss of the French lands, a loss that was a gain, for the interest 
of the 'Norman barons became more fully centred in Eng- 
land, and they began to see that what was to the advantage of 
the English was also to their advantage. John's tyranny and 
injustice led to revolt on the part of the barons, and his quar- 
rel with the church gave to the barons a fearless leader in 
Archbishop Langton. The result of the struggle was that 
John was forced to sign Magna Carta. This charter is the 
token not only of successful resistance to tyranny, but of a 
realization that the interests of church, nobles, and people 
were one. 

8. Henry III. 1216-1272 

81. The child king. The only member of the royal 
family left to inherit the crown was a little boy named 



1216-1227] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 89 



Henry, who was but nine years old. Before this time it 
had never occurred to any one that it would answer at all 
to choose a child for king ; but now the English must 
either choose him or else take some one not a member of 
the family that had ruled them for so long. They chose 
the child, and crowned him with a little circlet of gold, 
for the heavy crown 
that had been 
washed away into 
the sea had not 
been found. 

This Henry III. 
was a gentle, amia- 
ble boy, but rather 
dull and slow. All 
laws were made in 
his name, but the 
barons were the real 
rulers until he was 
eighteen. There 
was no especial 
trouble in getting 
rid of the Dauphin, 

and indeed mat- The king is represented as holding a model of Westmin- 
ster Abbey, which he enlarged and beautified. The 
terS in °"eneral Went other two figures are the bishops of Winchester and 
& Bath. 

on very well until 

Henry was of age, though one law that the barons made 
would have greatly astonished William the Conqueror. 
This was that no one should be punished by death, even 
if he did go hunting in the royal forests. 

82. Henry's character. As soon as Henry had full 
power in his own hands, England began to have a hard 
time again, for he would gratify his desire for display 
whether his subjects were pleased or not. When his 




90 ENGLAND'S STORY [1227-1258 

sister married the emperor of Germany, Henry gave her 
such splendid jewels and dresses and horses and goldev 
dishes that people stared in amazement that even an 
empress should have such magnificence. Of course the 
English had to pay for all the lavishness, and when, the 
very next year, their king himself married, the demands 
were still larger. No one had ever heard of such ex- 
travagance as there was at the celebration of this mar- 
riage. Two or three years later a royal prince was 
born, and then the king, not satisfied with the generous 
presents that people made on such occasions, actually 
sent men about the country to ask for gifts. When he 
wanted money some years after this, he visited the homes 
of his subjects, and at the end of each visit he would 
invite his host to make him a present. 

If this Henry III. had been a king of whom the Eng- 
lish people could have been proud, they would have given 
to him as generously as they did to Richard; but his 
government was weak, he had never put an enemy to 
flight, and the clear-headed Englishmen began to realize 
how foolish it was to make themselves poor that such 
a king might have money to throw away. The people 
were long-suffering, and whenever they seemed ready to 
make a stand, the king would break down and weep and 
say that he meant them no wrong. He would promise 
whatever they asked, and perhaps he really meant to 
keep his promises, but he was so weak that he broke 
them at the first temptation. At last the moment came 
when the people would bear no more. 

83. Opposition to Henry. Henry had been on the 
throne for more than forty years. His subjects' indigna- 
tion had increased, because, in addition to all his other 
expenditures, he was sending to the Pope much larger 
sums than England could afford, and now on a oromise 



1265] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 91 

that one of the English princes should rule Sicily, Henry 
had agreed to give the Pope a great amount of money 
to help to make a conquest of the island. He The Sicilian 
called Parliament together, brought in his son question, 
wearing the Sicilian dress, and told the assembly what 
an honor it would be to England for the prince to be 
king of Sicily. 

This was not a good time to ask for so much money 
to be sent out of the kingdom, for the English were 
carrying on a war with the Welsh, and there was a terrible 
famine besides. The barons refused to yield to Henry's 
demands, and finally a strong party was formed against 
him. The leader in this opposition was Simon slmon de 
de Montfort, Henry's brother-in-law. The crown Montlort 
prince Edward also sided with the people, but when it 
really came to war, Edward would not desert his father, 
and he led the royal army. 

De Montfort and the people won. They were not 
fighting to get rid of the king, but to make him treat his 
subjects fairly ; and, instead of putting him off the throne, 
they called a Parliament in his name. This was in 1265, 
and the assembly Was different from all previous Parlia- 
ments, for now not only clergymen and barons, 
but citizens and country gentlemen, were asked oftheHouse 
to come together to discuss the affairs of the mons™ 
nation. This was the beginning of the English 1265, 
House of Commons, the representation of men that have 
neither land nor rank. 

It is possible that Earl Simon, after endangering his 
life by heading a party against the king, may have felt 
that he was justly entitled to more power than 
the other barons. At any rate, they became Evesham. 

126B 

jealous, and a league was formed against him by 

Prince Edward. Of course there was fighting, and in 



92 ENGLAND'S STORY [1265 

the battle of Evesham the earl was slain. An old ballad, 
probably written soon after the battle, says : — 

" Full cruelly they struck that day 
All with the brandished brand, 
But in the end Sir Edward's men 
They got the upper hand. 

" But by his death Earl Simon hath 
In sooth the victory won, 
Like Canterbury's martyr he 
There to the death was done." 2 

This ballad shows how the people felt toward Simon de 
Montfort. When the battle of Evesham was raging, so 




BUILDING OPERATIONS DURING THE REIGN OF HENRY III. 
The king, to the left, is giving directions to the architect 

terrible a thunderstorm suddenly arose that the monks in 
the abbey could not see the words of the psalms they 
1 F. York Powell's version. 



1307] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 93 

were singing, and the soldiers had to stop righting be- 
cause they could not see their foes. Thousands of people 
thought this storm was sent to show that God was angry 
because the earl had been slain ; and so many began to 
look upon him as a saint that a law was actually passed 
forbidding any one to say that miracles had been wrought 
at his grave. 

84. De Montforfs work. Although to one looking 
on, it might have seemed as if, now that the earl was dead, 
his work was lost, yet his bold claim that men without 
either land or rank had a right to be represented in the 
government was a long step forward in securing to the 
people the freedom of thought and speech that did so 
much to render tyranny powerless. 

SUMMARY 

Just as the wickedness of John aroused the opposition that 
resulted in Magna Carta, so the folly and extravagance of 
Henry III. called forth a demand for the representation of the 
people in Parliament. By the efforts of Simon de Montfort, 
citizens and country gentlemen, as well as nobles and great 
landowners, were asked to meet to discuss the affairs of 
the nation. From this beginning the House of Commons 
developed. 

9. Edward I. 1 272-1 307 

85. The children's crusade. When Henry III. died, 
his brave son Edward was in the Holy Land on a cru- 
sade. These expeditions had been going on ever since 
the days of William Rufus Great numbers of the 
bravest young men of France and Germany and England 
had been slain. Thousands of children had died too, for 
one crusade was made up almost wholly of children, 
many of them not more than twelve years of age. These 
children had no idea of fighting, but they thought that 



94 ENGLAND'S STORY [i2th-i4th Cent. 

if they could only tell the unbelievers about Jesus, they 
would all become Christians. 

Many of the children ran away from good homes, and 
sometimes their parents did not dare to hold them back, 
for they thought that perhaps God wished to rescue 
Jerusalem by means of these little ones. Few of the 
children had ever been far from home, and whenever a 
village came in sight, they would ask, " Is n't it Jerusalem 
yet?" They sang hymns on the long journey, and one 
of them we sing to-day, beginning : — 

" Fairest Lord Jesus, 
Ruler of all nature." 

It was a very hot summer, and many died of the heat. 
Then in crossing the Alps, even more died of the cold. 
The children thought that when they came to the sea a 
path would open for them, but the waves still beat upon 
the shore. Two merchants offered to take them over the 
water in their ships, and it was not known until many 
years later, that the merchants had carried them away 
and sold them as slaves. 

86. Gain from the crusades. The crusaders did not 
gain possession of the Holy Land, but yet these expedi- 
tions were of great value, for people learned new ways 
of living. They learned to use new words and to think 
new thoughts. Men are often uncharitable just be- 
cause they are ignorant, and the crusaders learned to 
look more kindly upon even the Saracens with whom 
they had fought, for they had seen that the heathen foes 
were often brave and truthful. One great change that 
the crusades helped to bring about in England 
changes was in regard to the ownership of land. Much 
of the land of the kingdom had been in the 
hands of a very few men, who were called lords of the 



1274] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 95 

manor because they owned large farms, or manors. 
People living on the manors were not permitted to 
leave them, and must work so many days every year for 
the owner. When these lords wanted funds for a cru- 
sade, they were glad to accept money instead of work, 
and sometimes they would allow the workmen to buy a 
piece of land for themselves. The result was that at 
the end of the crusades many owned land, and all these 
people were especially anxious to have a good govern- 
ment, for they began to feel that if they owned a piece 
of England, then what was good for England was a gain 
to them. 

87. England's welcome to Edward. The English 
people rejoiced to have Edward for king. He had fought 
against their champion, to be sure, but they felt that he 
really sympathized with them and fought only to support 
his father. Whether he was dead or alive, they did not 
know, since he had gone to the far-away east ; but as 
soon as Henry III. was buried, the chief men of the 
kingdom met in Westminster Abbey, and in the hope 
that Edward was living they took a solemn oath that they 
would be true to him. 

When he returned two years later, they gave him a 
most princely welcome. For more than two weeks every- 
body who could come to the great halls in London was 
feasted and had all the wine that he could drink. The 
houses were bright with hangings of silk and tapestry. 
Rich men threw money from their windows by the hand- 
ful and, strangest of all the ways of rejoicing, five hun- 
dred horses were let loose in the streets, and whoever 
chose might keep one for his own. 

88. Edward's reign is memorable for three reasons. 
The king was called Edward I., for people counted 
only from the time of the Conqueror. There are three 



96 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[i 272-1307 



reasons why his reign is worth remembering. The first 
is that before its close he had adopted the 
tive Pariia- ideas of the dead Simon de Montfort, and had 
ment,i295. Emitted to n j s Parliament representatives of 
the townsmen and of the lesser landowners. 

The second is that he conquered Wales. The Welsh 
were descendants of the early Britons whom the Saxons 
conquest of nad driven to the west ; and, although they had 
Wales, 1282. f ten been obliged to pay tribute, they had 
never really submitted to the rule of an English king, 
and they had a prophecy that some day their own King 




PLANTAGENET KING AT TABLE 



Arthur would come back and help them to drive away 
the invaders. Edward won several victories, and finally 
obliged the Welsh to acknowledge him as their ruler. 
Of course they did this most unwillingly, but matters 
seemed a little better when Edward told them that he 



t29o] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 97 

would give them a prince who had been born in their 
land and who had never spoken a word of The Prince 
English. Behold, when their prince was pre- °* Wales. 
sented to them, he was Edward's baby son, who had been 
born in Wales a few months before and was too young 
to speak a word of any language. He was called Prince 
of Wales, and that is why the eldest son of the English 
sovereign usually receives that title, though he has no 
more power over Wales than over any other part of the 
kingdom. 

The third reason for remembering the reign of Ed- 
ward is his attempt to conquer Scotland. This was 
far more difficult than to subdue Wales. In , 

Attempt to 

Scotland there were the descendants of a people conquer 
called Scots, who had long before come from co " ' 
the north of Ireland and had given their name to the 
country. There were descendants of Picts and of Danes ; 
of Englishmen whom William the Conqueror had driven 
from their homes ; also some descendants of Normans. 
All these people were united in wishing Scotland to be 
free, but they took an unwise step which put them into 
Edward's power. 

The Scotch king had died, leaving no children, and 
thirteen distant relatives claimed the throne. Edward 
was called a wise ruler, and the Scotch asked Bruce or 
him to choose among the thirteen. He replied* B aiitoi? 
that the Scotch must first acknowledge him as overlord. 
They agreed, and he decided in favor of Balliol, though 
a man named Robert Bruce had a claim that many 
thought equally good. 

Soon Edward began to behave so much as if he him- 
self were king of Scotland that even Balliol The stone 
revolted. Then Edward came with his army, ofScone - 
put Balliol from the throne, and subdued the Scotch, 



9 8 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1272-1307 



When he went home, he carried with him to London a 
stone upon which the kings of Scotland always sat when 

they were crowned. It 
is called the Stone of 
Scone, and the people 
believed that it was the 
very one that Jacob had 
for a pillow when he 
dreamed of the ladder 
and the angels ; and that 
it had been carried from 
Bethel to Egypt, Spain, 
Ireland, and finally to 
Scotland. Edward put 
it into a chair in West- 
minster Abbey, and it 
is on this stone that the 
king of England sits at 
his coronation. The 
only comfort that the 
Scotch had in its loss 
was an old prophecy 
that wherever the stone 
was, there the Scotch should rule. 

Scotland was not conquered. She only waited for a 
leader, and soon a brave, strong man appeared named 
wmiam William Wallace. He knew that he could not 
Wallace. meet the great numbers of English that would 
come against him, so he planned to starve them out, and 
when the English were coming, the people would burn 
what they could not carry, and then run away. After 
a while, however, the great English army overpowered 
the few Scotchmen. Wallace was captured and put 
to death. 




CORONATION CHAIR WITH STONE OF 
SCONE 



1307] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 



99 



The heir of Robert Bruce was his grandson, a young 
man by the same name. Edward had kept him at the 
English court, but one snowy morning he was 
missing. There were footprints of horses in Robert 
the snow, but they pointed toward London, and race ' 
no one guessed that the wise young man had had the 
shoes put on reversed. He escaped to Scotland and was 
crowned. At first he had to hide in the mountains, but 
he always had faithful friends, and he never was discour- 
aged. After a while he began to be successful, and 
there came a time when no one knew whether he or 
Edward would conquer. The English king was old and 
feeble, but he was as 
resolute as ever, and 
he set out to subdue 
Scotland once for all. 
Before he was out of 
England, he fell ill and 
died. His last wishes 
were that his bones 
should be wrapped in 
an ox-hide, and that his 
son — the one who had 
been the baby Prince 
of Wales — should 
carry them at the 
head of the English 
army till Scotland 
should be subdued. 
This was not done, 
however, for Edward 
was buried with his forefathers in Westminster Abbey. 

89. Banishment of the Jews. 1290. About the 
middle of Edward's reign he banished the Jews from the 




WILLIAM WALLACE 



100 ENGLAND'S STORY [1066-1307 

kingdom. Thus far the English kings had allowed them 
to stay, and had treated them less cruelly than had the 
kings on the continent. This comparative kindness was 
not for the benefit of the Jews, however, but simply 
because they seemed to know how to amass money bet- 
ter than other people, and the kings found it convenient 
to be able to help themselves from the Jewish hoard. 
When the Jews made loans, it was always doubtful 
whether they would ever see their money again, and so 
to make up for this risk, they charged enormous inter- 
est. The English now claimed that this high rate of 
interest was an injury to the country. Then, too, many 
people never looked at a Jew without thinking of the 
crucifixion of Christ, and fancying that even the Jews of 
twelve hundred years later were to blame for it. At 
any rate, they were driven out of England, sixteen thou- 
sand of them, and it is possible that no other deed of Ed- 
ward's reign brought him so much praise as their cruel 
expulsion. 

90. Literary progress. In the two centuries since 
the battle of Senlac, the English people had made much 
progress in freedom of thought. They had also made 
English is P ro g ress m tnen * manner of expressing their 
enriched by thoughts. The French had found it quite 
worth while to know English, and the English 
had found it convenient to know French. More and 
more, however, people were looking upon a knowledge of 
French as an accomplishment and upon English as the 
real language of the country. This English had been 
greatly changed since the days when the minstrels sang 
of Beowulf, and one of the changes was the result of 
borrowing words from the French. Words that were 
nearly alike in both languages were pronounced just as it 
happened ; and as for the spelling, they were spelled in 



J066-1307] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS lOl 

whatever way came to mind first. In order that those 
who knew but one language might understand, the cus- 
tom arose of using two words, one from the French and 
one from the English, meaning the same thing ; and that 
is one reason why our English of to-day has so many 
synonyms, or pairs of words with nearly the same signifi- 
cation ; such as cordial, hearty ; desire, wish ; act, deed ; 
humble, lowly ; confess, acknowledge. No matter how 
manywords English may take from the French or from 
any other language, it always makes them wear an Eng- 
lish dress ; for instance, telephone is from the Greek, but 
we say telephones and telephon-ing, and the s and the 
ing are not Greek, but English. 

The books that were written were chiefly about Eng- 
land and her history ; some of this history is true, and 
some of it goes back to the half-fabulous days 

& J Ballads, 

of King Arthur. The unwritten literature, the real 
however, is far more attractive. In the days 
of the weak King Stephen, the cruel barons robbed the 
people so unmercifully that many abandoned their homes 
and went to live in the forests. Then it was that men 
began to make ballads about bold Robin Hood, RoWn 
the merry outlaw who took from the rich and Hood - 
gave to the poor, who played all sorts of pranks on 
sheriffs and wealthy bishops, but who was always ready 
to help any one in trouble. 

It was a long time before the ballads were written, 
<but they were sung throughout the land. As in the 
days of Richard a minstrel might go where he would 
and always find a hearty greeting, so any man who 
could sing a ballad was ever a welcome guest. People 
would gather in groups at any time to listen to him. 
The ballads were on well-known old stories, or on any 
recent event that struck the fancy of the singer. He 



102 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1066- 1 307 



would never try to remember how another man had sung 
the song, but would sing what chanced to come to his 
own mind, and make up lines whenever he forgot. The 
song changed with every singer. 

The accounts of early England that were written in 

this century are in- 
teresting, but even 
though the monks 
that wrote • them 
would have been 
greatly shocked at 
the thought that 
their pages of digni- 
fied Latin were not 
so valuable as the 
street songs, it is, 
after all, the ballads 
that are the real English literature of the century, the 
real voice of the masses of the English people. 




A BAND OF MINSTRELS 



SUMMARY 

One important result of the crusades was that the number 
of people holding land had greatly increased ; another was 
that new thoughts and a wider knowledge had come to Eng- 
land. In this reign Wales was conquered ; but, owing to the 
brave leadership of Wallace and then of Bruce, Scotland was 
only partially subdued. Bigotry and narrowness were shown 
in the expulsion of the Jews, but freedom gained in the rep- 
resentation of all classes in a regularly organized Parliament. 

English became more and more the language of the peo- 
ple. History was written, but the best English literature of 
the period was the unwritten ballads. 




HISTORICAL MAP OF SCOTLAND 



104 ENGLAND'S STORY [i3°7-i3M 

10. Edward II. 1307-1327 

91. Edward II. and his favorite. Now that Edward 
I. was dead, the Prince of Wales became king and was 
called Edward II. He sat on the throne, but the real 
ruler of the land was a young Frenchman named Piers: 
Gaveston. He was a foolish, frivolous man, and Ed- 
ward I. and his Parliament had banished him ; but almost 
the first thing that this new king did was to call him 
back. Then Edward had the unworthy favorite walk 
next to himself at the coronation ceremonies, and when 
the king went to France for his bride, he made Gaveston 
regent during his absence, He gave him great numbers 
of costly gifts, jewels, gold plate, and all kinds of beauti- 
ful things ; though many of them belonged to the crown, 
und he had no right to give them away. At last the 
country would bear with Gaveston no longer, and he was 
banished for having stolen public money and for other 
crimes. In a short time the king called him back, and 
proclaimed that he was a "true and loyal subject." The 
barons were not convinced of that, and he was put to 
death. 

92. War with Scotland continues. All this time 
Robert Bruce was growing stronger, and at last he 
besieged Stirling Castle, the one stronghold in Scotland 
that remained in English hands. For the only time, 
Edward led his army in person. It was a large army, 
and Bruce had only a few men, but every Scotsman 
seemed to be a hero. At Bannockburn their leader 
dug trenches, or pits, in the way by which the English 
would have to come. Then he planted in these pits 
pointed stakes, and spread turf and rushes over them. 
Line after line of the English fell, and in spite of the 
mighty army against them, the Scotch won a tremen- 



1327] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 105 

dous victory. The king ran to save his life, for the Scotch 
were not satisfied with one victory, but pur- Battle of 
sued the foe even across the border. After J^ ock ' 
so disastrous a defeat, it is no wonder that i 31 *- 
the English were ready to make a treaty of peace. 

93. Edward is deposed. Edward had other favor- 
ites by this time, and they were as frivolous as Gaveston. 
The queen, too, had a favorite, one Mortimer ; and these 




STIRLING CASTLE 



two came over from France with an army and drove the 
king into Wales. The country had borne all that it 
could bear. Parliament met, and sent commissioners to 
the king to demand that he should resign the crown that 
he had worn so unworthily. 

It must have been a most impressive scene. Instead 
of making any defence, the king burst into tears and 
thanked Parliament most humbly for having chosen his 
son to take his place. The Speaker of the House of 
Parliament then said : " In the name of all the people 



106 ENGLAND'S STORY [I327-I377 

of the land, I renounce the oath of fealty that was made 
to you." 

To order a king to give up his crown was quite a new 
proceeding, and it shows plainly how the power of kings 
had decreased and the power of their subjects increased 
that any Parliament should venture to make such a de 
mand. What would William the Conqueror have said! 

Edward was taken to a castle and kept in imprison- 
ment for several months. Then he was secretly mur- 
dered, many thought by his wicked wife and Mortimer. 

SUMMARY 

The real rulers of the land were the unworthy favorites of 
the king. After the defeat at Bannockburn, Edward was 
forced to make a treaty with the Scotch. The queen and her 
favorite drove him into Wales; and finally, the English people 
exercised for the first time their right to depose a weak and 
worthless sovereign. 

ii. Edward III. 1327-1377 

94. Scotland becomes independent. Almost the 
first that we know of Edward III., the boy of fourteen 
who was left in 1327 to rule the kingdom, is that the 
very next year this boy put himself at the head of the 
army and marched against Scotland. The wise leaders 
of the Scotch proved to be better generals than the 
young king and his advisers, and it is said that the 
eager, disappointed boy wept bitterly when he was finally 
obliged to return to England and sign a treaty acknow- 
ledging the independence of the Scotch. 

This treaty was not at all pleasing to the people, and 
they blamed the wicked queen and her favorite Mortimer 
for bringing it about. When Edward was three years 
older, he saw that he must no longer allow the pair to 



1346] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 107 

rule. Mortimer was arrested, and Parliament put him 
to death as a traitor. The queen was imprisoned in 
her palace. 

95. Cause of the Hundred Years' War. Just as 
William the Conqueror had claimed the crown of Eng- 
land partly on the ground of his being cousin to Edward 
the Confessor, so this Edward III., when he was twenty- 
four years of age, laid claim to the crown of France on 
the ground of relationship to the late king. He even 
put on his coins, " Edward III., King of Eng- 
land and France." His chief allies were the aidsEng- 
people of Flanders, and the reason for their m ' 
friendship was because they wished to buy wool. 

England produced large quantities of wool, but did not 
attempt to weave any except coarse cloths. Flanders 
bought the wool, made fine cloth, and sold it to England. 
During some troubles between Scotland and England, 
France, as the ally of Scotland, had seized upon English 
vessels carrying wool to Flanders, and this had stopped 
the work of the Flemish weavers and had greatly injured 
the business of the country. 

A war to secure the crown of France for the ruler of 
England began, and did not end for a century. In the 
first few years of this struggle, there was a fierce naval 
fight and also a great battle on land, and the English 
won both. The naval fight was off the mouth of the 
Schelde. The English won such a victory that no one 
dared to tell the loss to the French king. 

96. Edward invades France. In 1346 Edward 
landed in France, and just as the Conqueror fell when 
he landed in England, so Edward fell when first he 
touched his foot to French ground. 

" Sir king, go back to your ship," his men pleaded. 
" Land some other day, for truly, this is a bad omen for 
us." 



io8 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1346 



Battle of 

Crecy. 

1346. 



" Why ? " asked the quick-witted king. " It is a good 
omen, for it shows that the land herself is eager to re- 
ceive me." 

Onward the army marched, plundering and burning, 
and sending on board the ships much treasure, 
and all the prisoners that would be able to pay 
a generous ransom. By and by the English 
came to Crecy, and there a battle was fought. The 
French had many more soldiers than the English, but 
the English troops were well trained and obeyed orders, 
while the French sometimes obeyed and sometimes did 
not. Moreover, the English had a good position, but 
the French had the sun in their eyes. 

The French felt sure of win- 
ning the battle because they 
had hired fifteen thousand men 
from Genoa to fight with cross- 
bows. These Genoese dashed 
forward with a loud cry ; but 
the English stood still. They 
dashed forward again with a 
louder cry, but not an English- 
man stirred. They came the 
third time, and now they shot. 
Then the English archers 
stepped forward just one pace 
and shot a storm of arrows. A 
little earlier there had been 
a shower, which had wet the 
strings of the crossbows that 
the Genoese used, but the Eng- 
lish had been able to keep their strings dry. The result 
was that the arrows of the Genoese did little harm, but 
every English arrow counted. Moreover, the English 




A GENOESE CROSSBOWMAN 
Winding up or bending his crossbow 



i 34 7] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS IOQ 

could shoot much more rapidly, for the Genoese had to 
wind up their crossbows with a crank before every shot. 
The French ran, and the English pursued ; and then 
some Welsh, who were armed with short, broad knives, 
dashed upon the fugitives, and the day was won for 

England. 

Edward's son, the Black Prince, as he was called, per- 
haps from the color of his armor, was on the The Black 
field, and once when he was in danger, his ™ nce - 
friends appealed to the king to come to his aid. 
" Is he thrown from his horse ? " asked the king. 
" No," they answered. 

"Then let him win his spurs," said the king, "and the 
glory of the victory 
shall be his." 

When the battle was 
over, the king kissed 
the prince and said : — 
" You are my good 
son, and you are worthy 
to keep a realm." 

It is possible that 
cannon were used in 
this battle, but they 
were very small, and 
hardly did more than 
to frighten the horses. 

After the battle of 
Crecy, the English 
pushed on to Calais and 
besieged the town. The brave defenders held out for a 
whole year, and when they surrendered, it slege0 f 
was only because they were starving. Edward Calais, 
was so angry at the resistance that he said he would 




AN ENGLISH ARCHER 



no 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1347-1356 



show no mercy unless six of the principal citizens would 
come forth in their shirts, bareheaded and barefooted and 
with ropes about their necks, that he might do with 
them as he would. The people of Calais wept at this 
hard decree, but the richest man in the town said, " I 
will be the first to risk my life to 
save the people." Five others fol- 
lowed, and when they stood before the 
king, he bade that they should all be 
hanged. 

Then Queen Philippa fell on her 
knees before him and said : " I came 
over the sea to you in much peril, and 
no boon have I desired of you. Now 
I beg that in the honor of the Son of 
the Virgin Mary and for the love of 
me, you will have mercy on these six 
citizens." 

To this the king answered : " Ah, 
lady, I wish you had been in some 
other place, but I cannot deny you." 
Thereupon the queen clothed the six 
men and feasted them, and set them 
free to go back to their own city 
The one who tells us this story and many more 
like it was Queen Philippa' s secretary, a man 
named Froissart. He lived in England and 
in France, and he wrote most interesting accounts of 
what he saw and what he heard. 

After Crecy there was a truce of several years ; then 

in 1356 came an important battle at Poitiers. 

Poitiers. The Black Prince was in command and cap- 

1356 

tured the French king. Froissart says that 
the prince treated his prisoner with the utmost courtesy, 




THE BLACK PRINCE 

From the effigy on his tomb 
in Canterbury Cathedral 



again. 



Froissart. 



1348] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS III 

even waiting on him at table, and humbly refusing to sit 
by him, saying : " I am not worthy to sit by so valiant a 
man as your actions have this day shown you to be." 

97. England's new idea. England was exceedingly 
proud of the victory at Crecy, but this battle gave her 
more than glory, it gave her a new idea. Before this, 
people had always thought that the only way to prepare 
a man for battle was to cover him with a heavy, clumsy 
coat of mail, set him on a horse, and put a lance into 
his hand. When they saw that the battle of Crecy was 
won by men who had neither coat of mail, spear, nor 
horse, they discovered that in battle a yeoman is as good 
as a knight. Before this, people had thought that the 
only way for poor folk to live was to stay on the manor 
of some knight, because he had a horse and armor and 
could protect them. The new idea that had come to 
England was that even people without horse or armor 
could protect themselves. 

98. The Black Death. This fact alone might not for 
a long time have made any general change in the way of 
living, but two or three years later, while people were 
slowly beginning to take in this new thought, a terrible 
pestilence, called the Black Death, swept over Europe, 
coming last of all to England. It is thought that nearly 
half of the population died. In some of the cities so 
many were dead that grass grew in the principal streets ; 
and in the country matters were even worse, for some- 
times nearly all the people on a manor died. What 
caused the disease is not known, but we are sure that it 
was much more severe than it would otherwise have been 
because the houses were so dirty and small and dark 
and had so few windows. Piles of rubbish and puddles 
of filthy water were just outside the doors. In the city, 
the streets were narrow, there was no drainage, and there 
was not even the good air of the country. 



112 ENGLAND'S STORY [1348-1377 

99. Some results of the French wars and the 
Black Death. During the crusades, as has been said, 
the lords would often allow their tenants, or villeins, as 
they were called, to pay their dues in money instead of 
in work. Even then some that might have been free 
remained on the manor, because, if they went away, 
there was no work by which they could support them- 
selves, since all the other manors had men enough. 
People had learned during the crusades that a man who 
was born a villein need not always remain a villein. 
Crecy had taught them that they could protect them- 
selves without the help of a knight ; and now that so 
many had died of the Black Death, there were always 
manors that needed workmen. Moreover, Queen Phi- 
weaving of lippa, who was a Fleming, had brought men 
rastatro" from Flanders to teach the English how ta 
duced. weave fine woolen cloth ; so that now if a vil- 
lein ran away, he could work on a manor for money, or 
go to a city and learn to weave ; and there was an old 
law by which if he could manage to stay away from the 
manor a year and a day, he was free, and could never be 
obliged to return. 

There was so much work, and so few wished to work 
High on the manors, that wages became very high, 

wages. The king made a law that whoever demanded 
more pay than was given before the Black Death should 
be imprisoned, and if a runaway villein was caught, he 
was branded on the forehead with an F for fugitive. 
The price of grain had risen so that the old day's wages 
would not support a man for a day, and of course work- 
men demanded more. Poor people began to sympathize 
with one another more than ever before, perhaps because 
they had all suffered so much in the Black Death, and 
every one who had a little money would help those that 
had none. 



1360] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 113 



Many ran away just because they wanted a change. 
These men were used to being watched all the John Ball , s 
time and told what to do every hour of the day, preaching, 
and when they had left the manor, they did not know 
what to think or how to 
behave with so much 
liberty. They became 
lawless, and soon they 
began to feel that it 
was an injury to them 
that others were richer, 
and they fancied that it 
was only fair to get all 
that they could from 
those that had more 
than they ; many of 
them, therefore, became 
beggars a n d robbers. 
A man named John Ball J° HN BALL preaching from horse- 

J BACK 

went about the country 

preaching that property ought to be taken from the rich 

and divided among the poor. He said : — 

" How are these lords any greater folk than we ? 
How do they deserve wealth any more than we ? They 
came from Adam and Eve just as we did. Why should 
they wear velvet and fur while we are covered with rags ? 
Why should they have white bread and wine while we 
have oat-cake and water? Why are they gentlemen 
any more than we ? " 

Everybody began to repeat the rhyme, — 

" When Adam delved and Eve span, 
Who was then the gentleman ? " 
100. Mistakes civil and ecclesiastic. Throughout 
England there was a feeling of restlessness and discon- 




114 ENGLAND'S STORY [1327-1381 

tent. English arms were no longer successful in France. 
Taxes for state and church were exceedingly heavy. The 
king was old and feeble, and the Black Prince was dying. 
The plague had filled the land with sorrow and loss, and 
the people, the poor especially, longed for the comfort of 
religion. But there was trouble in the church also. For 
many years the popes were under the power of the king 
of France, and the church was too full of her own diffi- 
culties and dissensions to give the help that was needed. 
William Langland, who seems himself to have been a 
priest and to have spent his early life in poverty, wrote a 
Plers famous book called " Piers Plowman," in which 

Plowman. he described the struggles of the poor, how 
much they had to suffer from cold, and how hard it was 
for them to save enough of even the coarsest food to last 
through the winter. He told each class of people how 
they might become better, for, unlike John Ball, he had 
no wish to overturn church or laws, and he believed that 
all would be well if every one would only do his best. 
This book was written in English, though many French 
words were used ; and long before the end of Edward 
III.'s reign a law was made that in courts of justice 
all cases should be pleaded in English. This is proof 
that English had become the language of the people of 
England. 

SUMMARY 

Edward was forced to acknowledge the independence of 
Scotland ; but he laid claim to the throne of France, and this 
claim led to the Hundred Years' War. The victory won by 
the yeomen at Crecy showed that a villein need not depend 
upon a noble for protection. The Black Death gave his work 
on the land a greatly increased value, while the manufacture 
of fine woolens in England enabled him to support himself 



1381] THE ANGEVINS. OR PLANTAGENETS 115 

if he escaped from the manor. The first effect of these 
changes was a large increase in the number of beggars and 
robbers ; the final effect was the overthrow of villeinage. 

12. Richard II. i377- J 399 
101. The Peasants' Revolt of 1381. The Black 
Prince had died one year before his father, and again a 
boy, Richard II., was placed on the throne. Richard 
was the son of the Black Prince, and was as brave as his 
father and his grandfather had been. Edward III. had 
put himself at the head of the army when he was only 
fourteen, and this boy, when he was of about the same 
age, mounted his horse and rode fearlessly up to a mob 
of angry men. 

This is the way that it came about The Hundred 
Years' War was going on with France, and there was 
also war with Scotland. More money was needed than 
the ordinary taxes would provide. Finally a new plan 
was tried, and that was to tax every person in the king- 
dom twelve pence, a sum that would be equal to about 
as much as a laborer could earn in two weeks. People 
were already feeling angry and indignant with the nobles 
and the other wealthy men of the land, and this de- 
mand was more than they could bear. A tax- Wat 
collector insulted the daughter of Wat Tyler, a Tyler - 
working man, and in a moment her father's heavy ham- 
mer had laid him dead on the ground. Crowds came 
together near London, and crowds came together all over 
the kingdom, as if the father's blow had been a signal. 
Wat Tyler talked to them about their wrongs, and John 
Ball talked to them, and they became more angry every 
minute. They put to death some people who, they 
thought, had done them harm, and they destroyed some 
property. They were especially anxious to burn the lists 



Il6 ENGLAND'S STORY [1381 

that were kept on every manor of the names of the villeins 
and the work required of each, for they fancied that if 
these lists were burned, no villein could be forced to re- 
turn to the manor. 

Finally, they were allowed to come into London, for so 
many Londoners sympathized with them that the coun- 
cillors did not dare to attempt to shut the gates, 
enter lest the sympathizers should do harm within 

the city, and the peasants should do harm out- 
side the walls. Once in the city, the peasants behaved 
remarkably well at first, but before night they drank 
quantities of wine, and then they became so excited and 
furious that no one knew what would happen the next 
morning. 

When morning came, part of the mob left the city 
and then sent a petition to the king, making four 
requests : that they should be free men ; that 
of there- even their leaders should not be punished ; that 
land should be rented at a uniform rate ; and 
that they might buy and sell wherever they chose. The 
king promised to grant what they asked, and many of 
them went home ; but some had stayed in London and 
did not know what the king had said. The more violent 
of the insurgents seem to have been among those who 
remained in the city, and Wat Tyler was with them. 
He had no idea of yielding, and he threatened to strike 
down the mayor of London. Wat was himself struck 
down, and in a moment his followers were ready to shoot. 
Richard's There would probably have been a terrible 
courage. slaughter if the boy king had not dashed away 
from his attendants to the front of the mob, and called 
out, " I am your king, and I will be your leader." 

The mob were so pleased with the boy's courage that 
they never seemed to doubt that he would keep his 



1381] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS II? 



promises ; and perhaps he would have done so if he had 
been free, though, when he promised, he did not know 
of some murders that the mob had just committed; but 
Parliament utterly refused to even think of giv- 
ing up villeinage, and punished the people most Peasants' 
severely. It is said that fifteen hundred were 
executed. So ended the famous Peasants' Revolt of 

1381. 

102. John 
Wiolif. It 

was a great 
mystery how 
it happened 
that peasants 
all over the 
kingdom 
should rise at 
the same in- 
stant. The 
only organiza- 
tion people 
could think of 
that might 
have brought 
this about 
was the one 
framed by a 
clergyman 

named Wiclif. He had said that there was much in the 
church that ought to be reformed ; and one thing was 
that the manner of appointment of the higher clergy did 
not provide for the care of the humbler people «. Poor 
of the land. He formed bands called " Poor Priests." 
Priests " and sent them throughout the country. They 




JOHN WICLIF 



Il8 ENGLAND'S STORY [1380-1381 

wore bright red cloaks and went barefoot, with staff in 
hand, from village to village, preaching the gospel to the 
poor. 

That would hardly have raised a revolt, but Wiclif 
had a peculiar doctrine that may have helped to do 
wiclif s narm - He said that God owned all property 
"doctrine and that He let men hold it if they would serve 
domof ng Him. "Then," said Wiclif, "if a man is not 
Qod "" serving God, he has no right to property." 

Probably Wiclif meant that even if property was in a 
man's hands, it might not be really his own in the truest 
sense, because, if he was not trying to serve God with it, 
his wealth would do him no real good ; but many unthink- 
ing people would interpret his words as meaning that any 
one might take away a man's property if he was not 
making good use of it ; and as the masses of working 
people were then feeling, they would think that no one 
who had more money than they could be using it pro- 
perly. 

Wiclif will always be remembered, not so much for his 
connection with the " Poor Priests " as for the translation 
wiclif of the Bible into English which was made by 

tneBiSe 8 hi mse lf ar >d his pupils. There was no printing 
1380. as yet, and the copies were exceedingly ex- 

pensive. It is said that the New Testament cost an 
amount equal to one hundred and fifty dollars to-day ; 
and when a book was bought, there had to be witnesses, 
and as much formality as there is now about buying 
Cost of a house. Even the University of Oxford is 
books. sa ici ^0 have had for its library only a few manu- 

scripts kept in a chest. Of course, it took a long time 
to copy a book in plain writing ; but wealthy people often 
wished for books whose capitals were brilliantly painted 
or illuminated, and such books cost a great deal more. 



1340-1400] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 119 



The colors of these capitals have lasted so well that 
they are to-day just as beautiful as ever. 

103. Chaucer. Not all the books were on theology. 
Through Richard's reign and through much of his grand- 
father's before him, 
a famous poet lived, 
named Chaucer. 
He was probably 
born in London, 
held office in the 
court, was taken 
prisoner in war, but 
was soon set free. 
His great work is 
a long poem called 
the "Canterbury 
Tales." The story 
of it is that he starts 
to go on a pilgrim- 
age to the shrine 
of Thomas a Becket 
at Canterbury. At 
the Tabard Inn he 
finds a company of 
men and women, all on their way to the same shrine 
for, he says, when spring comes, people long TheCanter 
to go on pilgrimages. The inn-keeper is a * ui r Tales - 
merry, good-natured man, and he proposes that they all 
go together and tell stories on the way. Then on their 
return, whoever has told the best story shall have a 
good supper at the expense of the rest. 

Chaucer's book is made up of the stories that the 
pilgrims told. There were all sorts of people, a knight, 
a squire, a monk, a nun, a scholar, a cook, a sailor, a 




GEOFFREY CHAUCER 



120 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[ i 384-1 40c 



parish priest, and many others ; and therefore there are 
all sorts of tales. In those days it was thought perfectly 
right for a man to take any story that he had heard, tell 
it in his own way, and call it his ; so Chaucer took the 
plot of a story from wherever he found it, but it is his 
way of telling a tale that we like especially. He makes 
us feel as if we had really seen the people whom he 
describes. That Chaucer, who spent so much time at 




A GROUP OF CANTERBURY PILGRIMS 



court, should have written his poem in English is proof 
that neither Latin nor French, but English, made richer 
by many new words from the French, had become the 
literary language of the land. 

104. Richard's marriage. No class of people had 



1399] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 121 

been very fond of Richard. The rich said that he sym. 
pathized with Wiclif and the poor, while the poor were 
indignant at his extravagance. He was arbitrary, and 
often took his own way without the least regard to the 
laws. Even what he did with the best motives sometimes 
made people angry ; for instance, when his wife died, he 
thought that it would make peace with France if he 
married the little eight-year old Isabella, daughter of the 
French king. There is a tradition that a great English 
noble knelt at the feet of the little girl and said : " Fair 
lady, by the grace of God ye shall be our lady and queen 
of England." 

Then answered the child, all of her own accord : " Sir, 
an it please God and my lord my father that I shall be 
queen of England, I shall be glad thereof, for it is showed 
me that I shall then be a great lady." 

The marriage ceremony was gone through with, and at 
the marriage feasts the child queen sat beside the king. 
When, near the end of his reign, Richard left her to go 
to Ireland, he caught her up in his arms and kissed her 
and said : " Adieu, madam ! adieu till we meet again." 

105. Richard II. is deposed. While he was gone, one 
of his cousins, known afterwards as Henry IV. of Lan- 
caster, appealed to Parliament to make him king on the 
ground that Richard had forfeited the throne by his 
tyranny and injustice. Parliament agreed with Henry. 
Richard was forced to abdicate, and Henry was chosen 
king. There was a little boy named Edmund Mortimer, 
Earl of March, who was descended from an older son of 
Edward III. than the son from whom Henry came, but 
England did not wish to put the crown on a child's head 
again, even if he had a better hereditary right. It may 
be that Parliament was wise, but this decision led to many 
long years of warfare and bloodshed, 



122 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[I 154-1399 



SUMMARY 

The last quarter of the fourteenth century brought about 
a gain in the condition of the poor. The Peasants' Revolt 
hastened the disappearance of villeinage. Wiclif's "Poor 
Priests " met the longings of the people to know more of re- 
ligion, and his translation made it possible for an Englishman 
to read the Bible in his own language. Chaucer, last of the 
old poets and first of the new, wrote the " Canterbury Tales," 
not in Latin, but in English. The deposition of Richard in 
favor of Henry IV. led to the fiercely contested battlefields of 
the Wars of the Roses. 



THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 

5. Henry II. 

(Plantagenet) 

"54" 



6. Richard I. 

(Coeur de Lion) 

1189-1199 



Geoffrey 



Arthur 
(murdered ?) 



7. John 
(Lackland) 
1 199- 1 2 16 

8. Henry III. 
1216-1272 

9. Edward I. 
1 272- 1 307 

10. Edward II. 
1307-1327 

11. Edward III. 
1327-1377 



Edward 

(Black Prince) 

d. young 

12 Richard II. 
1377-1399 



Lionel, 
Duke of Clarence 



John of Gaunt, 
Duke of Lancaster 



Ednvarr! 
Duke ot tfori 



CHAPTER V 

THE KINGS OF LANCASTER AND YORK 

1399-1485 

13. Henry IV. 1 399-141 3 

106. Opposition to Henry. While Henry IV. was on 
the throne, he had much trouble with both his friends 
and his enemies. Many people felt that he was not the 
rightful king, and even before he was crowned, there 
were plots against him. King Richard had been im- 
prisoned in a strong castle with Henry's men to guard 
him. Within a month it was said that he had died, but, 
although his body was carried to London and seen in 
Saint Paul's Cathedral by every one who chose, yet this 
death was so convenient for Henry that many people 
believed that Richard had been murdered. 

On the other hand, there were many who were equally 
sure that the body shown in Saint Paul's was not that 
of Richard, but of some other man, and that the real 
Richard was hidden away somewhere in Scotland. The 
Welsh had always liked him, and they were ready to 
battle for his rights in the hope that he was still alive, 
or for the child Edmund Mortimer, if Richard was dead. 
Henry set out with his men to subdue Wales. 

It was not at all marvellous that in a mountainous 
country like Wales there should have been heavy tem- 
pests in the autumn, but the English soldiers were al- 
ways afraid of witchcraft, and they believed that the 



124 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1399-1403 



leader of the Welsh had brought the storms upon them 
by magic. They were ready to fight any number of 
men, but storms raised by evil spirits were quite another 
matter, and they were so frightened that Henry actually 
had to turn about and go home. 

107. War with France. The child queen of Richard, 
now a girl of fourteen, had been sent back to France. 
Her journey was made with all possible ceremony, and 
she had a splendid escort ; but France was angry both 
because she was no longer a queen and also because 




HENRY IV. AND HIS COURT 1 

Henry did not send back with her the dower that she 
had brought to England. The result of this was that 
there was trouble with France. 

108. Trouble with Scotland. Scotland was always 
inclined to be friendly with France, and now the Scotch 
made various invasions into northern England. There 
were few real battles, but there were continual skir- 
mishes along the borders of the two countries. On the 

1 From a book entitled Regi?nine Princiftis, translated from the 
Latin at the command of Henry IV., by Hoccleve, a disciple of 
Chaucer. Hoccleve is here represented as presenting the book 
to the king, who is seated attired in his royal robes, surrounded by 
his court. 



1403J LANCASTER AND YORK 125 

Scotch side was the Douglas family, and on the English 
were the Percies. One family would start out with all 
their retainers for a day's hunting on the other side of 
the border. Then, if they met the other family — a 
thing that both parties hoped would come to pass — 
there would be a fight. Many stirring ballads were after- 
wards written about these skirmishes. The Cliev y 
best one is " Chevy Chase," which begins: — Gh&ao. 

"The Percy out of Northumberland 
And a vow to God made he. 
That he would hunt in the mountains 

Of Cheviot within days three, 

In the maugre of doughty Douglas 

And all that ever with him be." 

The Percies had been strong friends of Henry's ; in- 
deed, he could hardly have gained the throne Battle of 
without their aid. Moreover, they had finally ^ ws " 
driven the Scotch out of Northumberland for 14 ° 3 - 
him. Of course they expected a reward, but Henry had 
little money, and he could not be nearly so bold in de- 
manding it of Parliament as he would have been if he 
had had a right to the throne that no one could dispute. 
The Percies were especially indignant because he had 
refused to ransom a kinsman of theirs who had fallen 
into the hands of the Welsh. Finally, they united with 
the Welsh, who were helped by France, and a fierce bat- 
tle was fought at Shrewsbury on the borders of Wales. 
The king's forces were victorious, and young Harry 
Percy, who was so quick-tempered that he was called 
" Hotspur," was slain. This ended the rebellion, but 
there was much worse trouble yet to come from the fact 
that there was a little Edmund Mortimer in existence. 

109. The first burning for heresy. 1401. The reign 
of Henry IV. will always be remembered as the first 



126 ENGLAND'S STORY [I399-HI3 

reign during which any one was burned for heresy, or 
not believing what the church taught. Henry was not 
a cruel man, but he wished to be sure of the support of 
the church, so he gave his favor to a law that punished 
heresy with burning at the stake. The first one to die 
was a London clergyman who was a follower of Wiclif. 
There was one other death at the stake and only one, 
for the people as a whole did not believe in any such 
barbarity, and Henry did not dare to oppose too strongly 
the will of the nation. 

110. Death of Henry IV. Henry IV. had a reign of 
only fourteen years. During the latter part of his life 
he suffered from some disease that no one knew how to 
cure. Whatever the trouble may have been, the attacks 
came upon him unexpectedly, and one day when he was 
praying in Westminster Abbey, he suddenly became 
hopelessly ill. Henry had never forgotten a prophecy 
made long before, that he should die in Jerusalem. 
Perhaps this was what had given him so much interest 
in the Holy Land that if he had dared to leave the king- 
dom he might possibly have led a crusade, for to die in 
Jerusalem was to go straight to heaven. When he was 
taken ill, he was carried to a room in the Abbey, and 
when he came to himself, his first question was, "Where 
am I ? Where have you taken me ? " " This is called 
the Jerusalem Chamber," said the attendants. " Thanks 
be to the Father of Heaven," said he, "that I shall in- 
deed die in Jerusalem." 

111. Prince Henry and the judge. His eldest son, 
who was also a Henry, was to succeed him. In his 
youth the prince was probably as fond of a good time as 
if he had not been of the royal blood. The story is told 
that on the arrest of one of his servants the young prince 
went to the judge in a rage and demanded that the man 
be set free. 






1399-1413] LANCASTER AND YORK \2J 

Then said the judge : " Sir prince, I humbly beg that 
if you would not have your servant dealt with according 
to the laws of the realm, you would bring me a pardon 
for the man from his majesty the king." 

The prince was so angry that he tried to rescue his 
servant by force, and dashed forward so that men thought 
he would verily kill the judge on the bench. 

The judge said calmly : " Sir prince, remember that I 
am here in place of the king, to whom you owe the obe- 
dience of a subject and of a son. Moreover, you should 
give good example of obedience to those that will some 
day be your own subjects." The prince's hand fell to 
his side, and the judge went on : "And now for your 
contempt and disobedience, go you to the prison of the 
King's Bench, and there remain until the pleasure of your 
father be known." Dropping his weapon, the prince did 
reverence to the judge and went to the prison, "as he 
was commanded." 

When this was told to the king, he said : " Thank God 
that I have a judge who fears not to administer justice, 
and a son who can obey justice." 

SUMMARY 

Henry's lack of hereditary claim to the throne opened the 
way to opposition and conspiracy. Trouble with France 
arose, and the sympathy of Scotland with the French led to 
border forays famous in ballad and story. By lords, king, 
and bishops, burning for heresy was declared legal, but it 
was so contrary to the will of the people that it was inflicted 
in but two instances. 



128 ENGLAND'S STORY [1413-1415 

14. Henry V. 1413-1422 

112. Generosity of Henry V. Henry IV. made his 
friends into enemies ; Henry V. made his enemies into 
friends. The little Edmund Mortimer was now a tall 
young man who might have formed a party against the 
king, but Henry had no idea of keeping him in prison, and 
almost the first thing that he did was to set him free. 
Then, too, there were the Percies of Northumberland, 
who had revolted in the preceding reign and had been 
punished by the loss of their estates ; and now to the 
son of Harry Hotspur King Henry gave back both title 
and lands. Henry trusted the Percies, and they were 
always true to him ; and as for Mortimer, he, too, was a 
faithful friend to the king. 

113. Why Henry V. went to war. When Henry 
was only Prince of Wales, his father had said to him, 
" When you are on the throne, keep your nobles busy 
making war abroad, for then they will have no chance to 
arouse revolts at home." This alone would not have led 
the king into fighting, though the only way for a king to 
win the applause of his people as a hero was to show 
himself a brave soldier ; but there was another strong 
influence in favor of war, and that was the church. 

The church in England possessed not only vast sums 
of money, but also great areas of land scattered over 
wealth of tne country. Even while Henry's father was 
the church. on j-}-^ throne, there had been quite a wide- 
spread feeling that for so much property to be held in 
such a way that the king could have no income from it 
was throwing an unfair burden of taxation upon the rest 
of the kingdom. Many people believed that it would be 
right for the king to take possession of these broad do- 
mains, and the House of Commons had advised him to 



14x3-1415] 



LANCASTER AND YORK 



129 



do so. People were beginning to talk of this land more 
than ever, and the clergy felt somewhat alarmed. Henry 
was eager for military glory, and of course, if the kingdom 
was thinking of war, it would not be thinking about the 
lands of the church ; hence, the clergy advised Henry to 




A GROUP OF ENGLISH KNIGHTS AND FRENCH MAN-AT-ARMS 

Knights clad in plate armor, man-at-arms prostrate under the horses' feet, person to 
the left a spectator in civil costume 

go to war with France, and promised to help him with 
money and influence. 

114. Henry V. invades France. Henry's great-grand- 
father, Edward III., had claimed to be king of France, 
and now Henry claimed the French crown. Many 
people felt that even if there had been no shadow of 
a claim, it would have been right for some strong king 
to come in and rule the land, for the French nobles were 
continually fighting among themselves, killing men and 
destroying property, and the king of France was insane 



130 ENGLAND'S STORY [1415 

much of the time and could do nothing to quiet the 
country. 

Henry set sail for the mouth of the Seine, and after 
besieging Harfleur, he began to march to Calais. As 
he hoped to rule over the land, he forbade his soldiers to 
injure any property, and ordered them to pay well for 
whatever food they used. The French nobles had never 
thought of paying for anything that they took or de- 
stroyed, and this just decree of Henry's probably pre- 
vented some opposition and made his way easier. 

By and by he found himself facing a French army. It 
was never any trouble in France to collect men to fight, 
and the French had six times as many soldiers 
Agincourt. as the English. Most of the Frenchmen were 
1415, nobles, and, although they knew that the Eng- 

lish army was made up in great degree of yeoman foot- 
soldiers, and that these yeomen were the same kind of 
bold archers that had won the victory at Crecy, they 
forgot the lesson that the former defeat should have 
taught them, and only boasted the more that they who 
were nobles would have no difficulty in overcoming a 
troop of peasants. 

The battle was fought on clayey ground that had just 

been ploughed. The evening before, it had rained, and 

the earth was so wet and soft and sticky that 

Yeomen J 

conquer knights in heavy armor could hardly have made 

their way across the field on foot ; and when 

they attempted to ride, the horses sank to their knees, 

and often one would break its leg, while the masters 

floundered about heavily in the mud. The knights were 

no cowards, and they did their best to press near to the 

English, but each one of these archers had a long, sharp 

stake, which he thrust into the ground in front of him 

while he shot ; and try their best, the French could not 



Mi 5] 



LANCASTER AND YORK 



131 



go through the forest of stakes. The English archers 
h->A no heavy armor, and they sprang lightly forward 
with their battle-axes. Many of the French knights who 
were uninjured had tumbled off their horses, and lay in 




r -«s 



MOVABLE TOWER, ARCHERS, CANNON, ETC., OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY 

the mud utterly helpless. Some one has said that the 
Englishmen cracked open the suits of mail with their 
battle-axes, as if they had been so many nutshells. 

It is said that when the battle was over the king 
asked : "What is the name of the castle yonder?" and 
when some one answered, " Agincourt," he said, "Then 
let this be called the battle of Agincourt ; " and Agincourt 
it has been from 141 5, when it was fought — just two 
hundred years later than Magna Carta — until to-day. 



J32 ENGLAND'S STORY [1415-1422 

115. Celebrating Agincourt. Henry had to return 
to England for a time, and there was the greatest cele- 
bration that can be imagined. The English were so jubi- 
lant that when they saw his ship coming into the harbor, 
they even rushed out into the water and took him on 
their shoulders and carried him to the land. 

116. Conquest of France. This victory, great as it 
was, did not conquer France ; but two years later, Henry 
went on another warlike expedition, and this time he won 
everything that he wished, though his desires were not 
at all moderate, inasmuch as he demanded a large sum 
of money, the crown of the French kingdom, and the 
hand of the French princess. The money and the prin- 
cess he carried with him to England. As for the crown, 
it was agreed that the insane king should wear it while 
he lived, but that Henry should really govern the king- 
dom ; and that when the king died, Henry should be- 
come sovereign of France. This never came to pass, 
for Henry V. died two months before the king of France. 
Henry was buried in Westminster Abbey in a beautiful 
little chapel built in the shape of a capital //for Henry. 

117. A baby king of two countries. He left a baby 
son, also named Henry, and as this child was son of the 
conqueror of France and of the French princess, he was at 
once proclaimed king of both countries. If he had been 
a strong, prudent man, he might perhaps have kept pos- 
session of the new domain, but he was only a little child, 
and the eldest son of the old French king was living. 
Therefore, every one knew that long before the baby 
prince would be old enough to rule, there would be more 
fighting with France, 



1413-1428] LANCASTER AND YORK 133 

SUMMARY 

Henry V. trusted those who might have been his enemies, 
and they became his friends. To avoid discussion and possi- 
ble confiscation of church lands, the clergy encouraged him 
to bring forward his ancestral claim to the throne of France. 
Agincourt and other victories won him a large sum of money, 
the hand of the French princess, the regency of France, and 
a promise of the crown at the death of the French king. 
Henry died before the French king, and the claim to the 
French crown descended to the baby ruler of England. 

15. Henry VI. 1422-1461 

118. Henry VI. and his uncles. In 1422, the baby- 
king was proclaimed ruler of England and France under 
the name of Henry VI. There was one respect in which 
this accession of a sovereign might have been a fair)' 
tale, for the baby had two uncles, and one was good while 
the other was bad. The good one was the Duke of Bed- 
ford, and the bad one was the Duke of Gloucester. The 
Duke of Bedford had to spend much of his time in 
France to take care of the French interests of his little 
nephew, and whenever he came back to England he had 
all that he could do to settle the quarrels that the Duke 
of Gloucester had aroused. 

119. Henry's hard childhood. The poor little boy 
did not have a very happy childhood. He was brought 
into Parliament and held by his mother in the royal seat 
when he was only three or four years old, and when he 
was eight he was crowned ; but he must have often 
wished that instead of being King Henry he had been 
one of the royal attendants, for when he was only six 
years old be was taken from his rrfbther and given in 
charge to an earl who was a stern old warrior. This 
was according to the will of Henry V, who had wished 
to make sure that his son would be a good soldier. 



134 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1428 



At that time it had never occurred to any one that 
there was any better way to bring up a child than with 
the utmost severity. The earl appointed four knights to 
be with the king, and no one was allowed to speak to 
him unless one of these knights was present. Children 
were whipped almost as a matter of course, and the poor 
little king was whipped perhaps oftener than others, for 
the earl was bent upon making him a model ruler. 
Whipping a king, even though he was a baby, was a 
rather dangerous matter, for it was possible that after he 




SPAIN 



•-^/i Sfe^^^l Ve <titerra^ { 



FRENCH TERRITORY HELD BY ENGLISH WHEN JOAN OF ARC 
APPEARED, 1429 

had grown up he might resent such treatment, and 
therefore the council appointed to take charge of Henry 
agreed that when he was to be punished, they would 
come before him and declare their willingness that the 
deed should be done. 

120. The siege of Orleans. All this time the Duke 



1429] LANCASTER AND YORK 1 35 

of Bedford was trying hard to keep possession of the 
French kingdom for his little nephew, who certainly 
ought to have had at least two kingdoms to make up for 
his dreary childhood. The English had a good hold on 
northern France, and the duke was trying to drive the 
French army south of the river Loire, but the attempt 
was of no use so long as the French held the town of 
Orleans. This had strong fortifications, and month after 
month the English besieged it in vain. At last they 
could see that the city was weakening, and that every 
day was bringing the time nearer when it must sur- 
render. 

121. Joan of Arc. The French became discouraged 
at the failure to raise the siege. Charles VII., son of the 
old king of France who had yielded to Henry V. of Eng- 
land, was no leader. He liked to have a good time and 
to be comfortable, not to bear the hardships of camp life. 
He was willing to be king, provided that some one else 
would place him on the throne and put the sceptre into 
his hands. His nobles stood by him, but they could not 
lead his army or make the masses of the French people 
trust them. While they were wondering what to do, a 
strange message came to the prince from one of his offi- 
cers. It said that a young girl, a simple village maiden, 
called Joan of Arc, was insisting upon meeting the prince, 
and that she declared she had seen a vision and heard 
voices that bade her rescue France. She said, " I should 
rather spin by the side of my mother, but I must go to 
the Dauphin." The people about her home had recalled 
an old prophecy that France should be saved by a 
woman, and they believed in her. A duke had sent for 
her to cure him of some illness, but she had said very 
simply that she could not do it, she could do nothing 
but save France. The officer reported that he had 



136 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1429 



Joan meets 
the Dau- 
phin. 



asked her a number of questions, but that he could not 

make her change her story. Then he had had her 

sprinkled with holy water, and no harm 

had come to her, and now he begged 

the prince to see her. 

She was sent for, and it is said that, 
although she was told that a hand- 
somely dressed courtier was the Dau- 
phin, she made no 
mistake, but 
knelt before 
the prince 
and gave him her 
message, that voices 
from heaven had 
commissioned her 
to conduct him 
to Rheims to be 
crowned. As a proof 
of her truth, she said 
that she would lead 
the French army to 
Orleans, and drive 
away the English. 

Then there was a 
long discussion 
about the words of 
the young girl. 
Some thought that her voices were those of good spirits, 
and some thought that they came from the 
comes a sol- tempter himself. Finally, the council decided 
that they were good and might be trusted. So 
the village maiden was dressed in a suit of white armor 
and set upon a great white horse. In her hand was a 




STATUE OF JOAN OF ARC 
Place des Pyramides, Paris 



1429] LANCASTER AND YORK 137 

sword, and before her was carried a shining white stand- 
ard with a picture of two angels bearing lilies and of God 
holding the world. 

Onward she rode at the head of the long lines of 
French soldiers. When they were near Orleans, she 
stopped, and sent a messenger to the English 
commander telling him it was the will of Heaven the siege of 
that he should surrender. His reply was that 0rleans - 
she knew nothing about the will of Heaven, and he 
threatened to burn the messenger for helping on the 
practice of magic. The French replied that if the mes- 
senger was harmed, the English prisoners in their hands 
would be sufferers. There was something mysterious 
about it, and while the starving people of Orleans were 
calling out jubilantly: "It is the maid of prophecy, 
and she is coming to save us," the English soldiers were 
feeling badly frightened ; for if she was sent by Heaven 
they were afraid to fight against her, and if she was a 
witch, that was just as bad, since, if she had the aid of 
evil spirits, no one knew what she might do to harm her 
foes. 

When it came to a real battle, Joan fought as bravely 
as any old soldier, and as soon as the scaling ladders 
were put against the wall of the English fort, she climbed 
up before any of the men. By and by the English 
yielded, and the siege of Orleans was raised. This was 
what she had told the French would be the sign of her 
mission, and now the soldiers were enthusiastic. They 
had no fear to follow wherever she might lead them, and 
Joan had no doubt whither she ought to lead them. The 
voices that she had heard, she told Charles, had commis- 
sioned her to conduct him to Rheims to be crowned, and 
thither they must go. 

Charles was ready to be crowned, but he did not care 



138 ENGLAND'S STOR/ [1429-1453 

to run into danger, and he greatly preferred that some 
Charles is one e ^ se should do the fighting. The English 
crowned, forces were between him and Rheims, but 
Joan persisted, and Charles finally yielded. Joan was 
victorious everywhere, and in the cathedral at Rheims 
Charles was crowned and anointed king of the French. 
Joan wept with joy. " I have done what was given me 
to do," she pleaded, "now let me go to my home ; " but 
she was too valuable a leader to lose, and Charles would 
not spare her. She must stay and win more battles for 
him, he said. In vain she pleaded that her mission was 
ended, that the voices she had heard had not told her to 
do anything more ; Charles still refused to let her go. 
Then Joan did her best to lead the army, but all power 
seemed to have left her, and she lost as often 

Joan is 

burned as a as she won. When she had gained a victory, 

witch . • ■ 

the soldiers sang her praises and were sure that 
Heaven had sent her ; but if she had lost a battle, they 
were equally sure that she was a witch. Finally, the 
French army had to retreat, and they left her alone to 
fall into the hands of the English. Not one soldier tried 
to save her, and not a word did Charles speak in her 
defence. Not an effort did he make to rescue her when 
some months later the English burned her as a witch 
in the market-place of Rouen. 

122. The Hundred Years' War ends. In 1453 the 
war ended, perhaps quite as much because both sides 
were tired of fighting as for any other reason. After 
the hundred years' struggle, Calais was the only bit of 
ground in all France that remained in the hands of the 
English. 

123. Good effects of the war. It is pleasant to know 
that there were some good results of this war. One was 
that as the English kings needed a great deal of money 



1453] LANCASTER AND YORK 139 

to carry on the war, and as the only way for them to get 
it was to ask the House of Commons, they learned that 
the best way to obtain money was to obey the will of 
the people. Another gain was that all ranks had fought 
side by side. The knights had learned to respect the 
yeomen ; and now that the yeomen had found that 
they, too, were esteemed of worth in the land, they had 
less jealousy of the knights, and Englishmen began to 
feel a strong national pride. 

124. Discontent in England. Nevertheless, there 
were several reasons why people in England were dis- 
contented and ready for a change. One reason was 
their indignation that after so much fighting the French 
lands should have been lost. Another reason was that 
men who voted for members of Parliament were not 
allowed to vote freely ; and worst of all, as the baby 
king grew up, although he was quiet and gentle and 
kindhearted, he had no idea how to rule a kingdom in 
spite of all his stern training ; and it often happened that 
guilty persons were not punished and innocent people 
were not protected. There were courts of justice, to be 
sure, but the jurymen were frequently chosen simply be- 
cause they were friends of one of the contestants, and if 
they did not vote for his side, they were in danger of 
being beaten or killed on the way home. In 1453, just 
as the war ended, the king's mind failed him, and from 
then to the end of his life he was subject to attacks of 
insanity. 

Another event that happened in 1453 was the birth of 
a prince. Then people were utterly discouraged. Even 
those who had felt that it would be better to bear their 
troubles patiently, as long as Henry VI. lived, could not 
endure the thought of another baby king and the trou- 
bles that a long regency would bring. 



140 ENGLAND'S STORY [1454 

125. Wars of the Roses begin. 1454. Edmund 
Mortimer, Earl of March, in whose place Henry IV. had 
become king, was dead ; but Edmund's sister had mar- 
ried a cousin, and they had a son named Richard. As 
Richard's father and mother were both descended from 
Edward III., and his mother came from an older son 
than the one from whom Henry came, many people be- 
gan \.o feel that this Richard, Duke of York, had a claim 




COSTUMFS OK LADIES OF RANK DURING THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY 
Remarkable for the head-dresses worn 

to the throne, and so when Henry became insane, Parlia- 
ment appointed Richard as Protector. When the king 
recovered, Richard declared himself to be in danger, 
and called out his men to fight for him. Henry was 
descended from the Duke of Lancaster, whose badgv 
was the red rose, and Richard from the Duke of York, 
whose badge was the white rose ; and this is why the 
contest, which began only two years after the Hundred 
Years' War ended, was called the Wars of the Roses. 



I455-I46I] LANCASTER AND YORK 141 

During the French wars it had come to pass that 
many nobles had become very rich, and could The Earl 0l 
call upon large numbers of men to fight for Warwick, 
them. The Earl of Warwick was one of these im- 
mensely wealthy people. It was said that he could 
bring forward thirty thousand men at any minute to 
fight for whatever cause he chose ; and he meant to 
put the Duke of York on the throne. Of course many 
favored the king, and Parliament compromised the mat- 
ter by deciding that after King Henry died the Duke 
of York should rule. Neither Parliament nor the people 
as a whole cared very much which royal house held the 
throne, but they were all tired of poor government, and 
they did want a king with sufficient force to rule his king- 
dom. 

Affairs would perhaps have moved on smoothly if it 
had not been for that baby son of King Henry. Queen 
His mother, Queen Margaret, was a very brave JEjK?^ 
woman, and she declared that she would defend baby son. 
the rights of her child, and that he and no one else should 
wear his father's crown. She was of French birth, and 
to find help she went to different parts of France and 
also to Scotland. 

Fighting began, and soon the king was captured ; but 
it was not long before the queen rescued him, even from 
the hands of the Earl of Warwick himself. The Duke 
of York had been slain in battle, but he had left three 
sons. Edward, the eldest, claimed to be the lawful king, 
and had been collecting men and arms in another part 
of the country to maintain his rights. His army and the 
forces of Warwick united, and marching to London, they 
entered the city with as much rejoicing as if they had not 
just lost a battle and also their royal prisoner. Edward, 
now Duke of York in place of his father, was not yet 



142 ENGLAND'S STORY [1461 

twenty years of age, but he' was bola enough to go 
straight to Parliament and claim the crown. 

126. Edward of York becomes king. 1461. Parlia- 
ment discussed the matter, and finally decided that, as 
King Henry had joined the forces of Queen Margaret 
that were rebelling against a decree of Parliament, he 
had forfeited the crown, and it should be given to this 
Edward of York, who was now proclaimed as King 
Edward IV. 

There were no such rejoicings as there had been at the 

coronation of King Edward I., for every one knew that 

some terrible fighting must come before many days ; and 

„ , so it was, for soon a battle was fought at Tow- 

Battle of ° 

Towton. ton in northern England. It was so fierce that 

1461 

more people are believed to have been killed 
on that one day than during the last forty years of 
the Hundred Years' War. Indeed, this whole struggle, 
which went on for thirty years, was a bloody time. 
Nominally, people were fighting to settle the question 
whether Parliament had a right to put on the throne 
whomever it chose ; or whether, as the house of York 
claimed, the descendants of the eldest son should always 
rule, regardless of the will of Parliament. Really, how- 
ever, men were fighting for wealth and power, and often 
to avenge private wrongs. Every noble of any position 
had, as has been said before, a great band of retainers 
to fight for him. It was regarded as the only honorable 
course for a man to avenge any relative that had been 
slain. Almost every one had lost relatives, and there- 
fore there was no generosity shown to the vanquished. 
Those that won would put to death the prominent men 
on the other side and confiscate their property. 



x 



1422-1465] LANCASTER AND YORK I43 

SUMMARY 

The long minority of the king made efforts to hold the 
French throne unavailing, and at the close of the Hundred 
Years' War in 1453 Calais was the only bit of France that 
still belonged to England. Although in this long war dif- 
ferent ranks had learned a mutual respect, and the power 
of the Commons had increased, because the kings were 
obliged to apply to them for the large sums of money that 
were needed, there was much discontent in England. The 
chief reasons were the loss of the French lands, the weak- 
ness of the government, and the fact that many Englishmen 
were not allowed to vote freely. Finally, the failure of the 
king's mind and the prospect of another child ruler aroused 
a determination to put Richard, Duke of York, on the throne. 
The fierce Wars of the Roses began. Richard was slain, but 
by the power of Warwick Richard's son became King Ed- 
ward IV. 

16. Edward IV. 146 1 -1483 

127. The "King-maker" changes sides. It was in 
1 46 1 that Edward IV. had been put on the English 
throne. His strongest ally was the Earl of Warwick, 
the '"King-maker," as he was called, because he put 
down one king and set up another just as he chose. 
There was more fighting, but at last Queen Margaret was 
beaten in two important battles, and Henry VI. was taken 
prisoner. No one could have expected him ever to sit on 
the throne again, but strange things were to happen. 
The Earl of Warwick wished Edward to marry a French 
princess in order to increase the royal power ; but now 
that the young man was on the throne, he was not so 
obedient as he had been, and without consulting the earl, 
he married a lady who, though of noble, was not of royal 
birth 



H4 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



ti470 



This and other causes made Warwick so angry that 
he determined to leave the ungrateful Edward of York 
and support Henry VI. of Lancaster. He joined 




EDWARD IV., HIS QUEEN AND SON 

Anthony Woodville, Earl of Rivers, is giving the king a book and presenting his printer 
Caxton. Next to the queen is her son, afterward Edward V. The courtier iD cap 
and robes of state is probably the Duke of Gloucester, afterward Richard III. 



forces with Queen Margaret, and Edward was so fright- 
Henry vi. ened that he fled to Holland. The way was 
kinf ain °P en tnen » an d Warwick brought poor, feeble 
1470. Henry VI. out of the Tower of London and set 

him on the throne. 

128. Edward IV. is restored. Edward had not been 
idle, and after a few months he returned with strong 
forces, fought a battle with Queen Margaret, and took 



1470-1483] LANCASTER AND YORK 145 

her prisoner. Her son, the young man about whom all 
this righting had been, was killed in the battle, and the 
queen was carried to the Tower of London. Henry VI. 
was then in the Tower, where he is believed to have been 
murdered. Warwick had been slain in battle one month 
earlier. 

129. Benevolences. Edward was again on the throne, 
and he seemed to feel that, as he had had so hard a time, 
he was now entitle'd to enjoy himself. He needed 
money, so he confiscated estates wherever there was the 
slightest excuse. That did not provide enough revenue, 
but he knew that it would be of little use to ask Parlia- 
ment for more, and he did not dare to attempt to tax the 
people without Parliament's consent ; so he at last origi- 
nated a scheme for getting funds in such a way that no 
one would dare to object. This was to invite wealthy 
men to make him a present, or benevolence, as he called 
it. " Benevolence " means "good will," and a few years 
later a witty man said that the name was a true one, 
though it did not mean that people gave with a good will, 
but rather that the king took what he had a good will to 
take. 

130. Printing is invented. Wonderful stories had 
begun to make their way from Germany. It was said 
that in that country books were being sold at about one- 
eighth of what they cost in England. At first people 
did not believe the report, but when they found that it 
was really true, they said the books must have been 
made by Satan, for in those days everything mysterious 
was laid to Satan. It was chiefly Bibles that were sold, 
but that made no difference. 

There was living in Flanders an intelligent English 
man named William Caxton. He had translated from 
the French a book called the "History of Troy," and 



146 ENGLAND'S STORY [i4th-i5th Cent 

when he heard of the strange, new art of printing, he 
wniiam determined to learn all about it and to have his 
caxton. book printed. He did so, and he wrote about 
the book to a friend, saying that it was "not written 
with pen and ink, as other books be." 

After a while he came to England and set up his press 
near Westminster Abbey, and there he printed more 
Printing is than sixty volumes. He would probably have 
England! P rinted Wiclifs translation of the Bible, had its 
14 ?7. sale not been forbidden. He did print, how- 

ever, among other works, "^Esop's Fables," Chaucer's 

*X* C mfcpd) fflmj $a( tbott fctue &rtgc 
*^-» Ijoff to finotbc $e ctaf fe of frlfcmt $0* 
uttmpfc, Qfoto £ for to 6qx em(pmttU*lfrt 
IM4* of &t« &op/ fa& & mage not <ow to 

9 i 

FAC-SIMILE SPECIMEN OF CAXTON'S PRINTING 

"Canterbury Tales," and a book about King Arthur. 
People felt at first as if the printing-press were only a toy, 
but the king was deeply interested in it, and the queen's 
brother translated three books for Caxton to print. 

131. Literature. During the one hundred and thirty 
years preceding the end of Edward's reign, there had 
been too much fighting going on for people to write, but 
they were interested in many more subjects than they 
had been in earlier times, and every one that could 
Few books afford such luxury had bought books, though 
written. these had been so expensive that a collection of 
thirty volumes was looked upon as a valuable library for 
even a wealthy gentleman to possess. 



*4th-i5th Cent.] LANCASTER AND YORK 147 

People were still composing ballads, for while few felt 
like writing books, yet the excitement and the sudden 
changes did arouse people to compose short, 
strong ballads, which tell a story in so few ballads 
words that each one seems almost like a sud- compose 
den battle-stroke. Caxton would have thought it quite 
beneath him to put in print anything so simple as bal- 
lads, though every one enjoyed listening to them, and 
the royal court and many of the houses of the great 
nobles had minstrels. Much respect was shown to men 
who could compose these poems and sing them. King 
Edward IV. gave each of his minstrels ten marks a year, 
clothing, lodging for themselves and their horses, two 
servants, four gallons of ale a night, wax candles, and 
other luxuries. 

New ballads were composed, but people sang the old 

ones over and over again, every time changing some of 

the words, and that is why we often have several versions 

of the same story. The old ballads of Robin _ _ 

J t Influence of 

Hood, the merry outlaw who lived in the "good "Robin 
greenwood," had a strong influence on the Eng- 
lish people, and it was almost wholly a good influence, 
for the stories of Robin made them think more of 
the pleasures of out-of-door life and of being kind to the 
poor. 

One thing in the old Robin Hood ballads seems a little 
surprising to have come from those days of constant 
warfare, and that is that Robin ruled his men not be- 
cause he was stronger than they, for most of them had 
beaten him in a fair fight, but because he was intellect- 
ually greater. He was wiser and brighter, and always 
knew what to do when the wit of his followers had 
failed. 



148 ENGLAND'S STORY [1461-1483 

SUMMARY 

The Wars of the Roses continued, and Henry was taken 
prisoner, but Edward's disobedience to the " King-maker " led 
to the temporary restoration of Henry. At last Warwick was 
slain, Henry was again imprisoned, and Edward was on the 
throne. To obtain money for his pleasures, he originated 
" benevolences." The great event of the reign was William 
Caxton's introduction of printing into England. Few books 
were written, but many ballads were composed. 

17. Edward V. 1483 

18. Richard III. 1483-1485 

132. The king who never reigned. In 1483 Edward 
IV. died, and again a child was heir to the throne. This 
child was Edward's son, a boy of twelve years, and as he, 
too, was named Edward, he was called Edward V., though 
he never had a chance to reign. It was the most natural 
thing for his uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, to be 
made Protector, and he was very willing to take the 
office. 

When Edward IV. married, he began to put the 
relatives of the queen into power, and before long it 
The wood- seemed to the nobles that every position of 
▼nies. honor and trust and opportunity for gain was in 
the hands of her family, the Woodvilles. The result 
of this was that as soon as Edward IV. was dead, many 
nobles were eager to put the Woodvilles out of office. 
This was exactly what Duke Richard wanted. The more 
of his friends that he could have in high places, or even 
in any place connected with the government, the better 
for his plans ; and this uncle and " protector " of the boy 
king had some very definite plans in mind for his owp 
gain. 



1483] 



LANCASTER AND YORK 



149 



The little Edward V. was with his mother's brother in 
a castle near Wales, and was being carefully and wisely 
brought up; but the Protector declared that Edw 
the child would be safer in London, and must, goes to 
at any rate, go there to be crowned. Richard 
met him on the road, separated him from his followers, 




THE SANCTUARY AT WESTMINSTER 
From a sketch made in 1775 

and carried him to the Tower of London, though the 
poor child begged piteously to be taken back to his 
mother and his old friends. 

The queen had taken her daughters and her second 
son to Westminster, for it was an old law in the king- 
dom, called the "right of sanctuary," that no "RigMof 
one should harm a person who had taken refuge ■""tuary." 
in a church ; and once when Edward IV. had pursued 
an enemy within the church walls, the priest had stood 
between the two, holding the consecrated bread, and at 
his command the king had submissively retreated. The 
children would have been safe in Westminster, but Duke 



150 ENGLAND'S STORY [1483-1485 

Richard sent people to the queen, who persuaded her 
against her will to let the second son go to London ; and 
before long this little boy was also in the Tower. 

133. Richard III. becomes king. After the princes 
were in his hands, Richard did not conceal from those 
nobles who were willing to stand by him his inten- 
tion of becoming king. He prevailed upon Parliament 
to say that the marriage of Edward IV. had not been 
legal, and that therefore his children could not inherit 
the throne. There were several executions of people 
who might have stood in Richard's way, and at last 
Parliament offered him the crown. There were three 
reasons for this act, — Richard was already in power ; 
many nobles and others expected to gain by his being on 
the throne ; and if the little princes were set aside, there 
was no one else whose hereditary claim was so good. 

134. Richard's rule. Richard III. ruled well ; in- 
deed, he was afraid to do otherwise. He abolished 
"benevolences" and treated the people fairly and justly. 
He had the laws translated into English for the first time 
and printed ; and in regard to printing he made an espe- 
cially good law. It was that, although foreigners could 
not trade in England without paying a tax, any one 
who wished to write, print, bind, or sell books might come 
as freely as if he had been born an Englishman. 

Richard did not feel safe so long as those two little 
boys in the Tower were alive ; for although Parliament 
had declared that they had no right to the crown, their 
usurping uncle knew that at any moment an attempt 
Murder of might be made to put the older of the two on 
the princes. t h e throne. The story was spread that they 
had mysteriously disappeared, but every one believed that 
Richard had killed them. It was whispered from one to 
another that he had had them smothered with pillows 



i 4 8 3 ] 



LANCASTER AND YORK 



151 



when they were asleep. No one dared to ask questions, 
but many years afterward some workmen found two 
little skeletons buried at the foot of a staircase in the 
Tower, and it has 
been thought that 
they were those of 
the murdered 
princes. 

135. Rising 
against Richard. 
It is possible that if 
it had not been for 
this murder, Rich- 
ard might have re- 
mained on the 
throne all his life ; 
but after this, peo- 
ple were every day 
more angry and dis- 
gusted with him. 
Richard thought 
that perhaps he 
could win men to his 
party if he married 
one of the daugh- 
ters of Edward IV. 

She had already been betrothed to one Henry Tudor, 
Earl of Richmond, and she was Richard's own niece, but 
he believed that he could persuade the Pope to allow the 
marriage, and that this would end all trouble. Instead 
of being satisfied, the English people were so indignant at 
the thought of such a deed that they detested Richard 
more than ever ; and now they set to work in earnest to 
see whom they could put on the throne in his place. 




THE PRINCES IN THE TOWER 
From an ideal painting by J. E. Millais 



I5 2 ENGLAND'S STORY [1485 

Of Henry Tudor both Edward IV. and Richard had 
always been afraid, because he, too, was a descendant of 
Henry Edward III. ; and they had pursued him so that 

Tudor. h e sa jd h e had been either a fugitive or in 
prison ever since he was five years old. His friends 
believed that as the whole nation was so angry with 
Richard, they could now place this Henry Tudor on the 
throne. He came from France, and went directly to 
Wales, because his grandfather had been a Welshman, 
and he felt sure that the Welsh would be on his side. 

136. Bosworth Field ends the Wars of the Roses. 
He was right, for the farther he marched, the larger 
grew the number of his followers, not only in Wales, 
but in England. Richard was getting his forces together, 
of course, and the two armies met at Bosworth Field, 
in the very heart of the kingdom ; and here, in 1485, 
the last battle of the Wars of the Roses was fought. 
Richard was bravery itself, but he was slain. For 
these two years of power, he had stopped at nothing that 
he thought would make his position secure ; for there 
is hardly a question that he had more than once com- 
mitted most brutal murders to clear his way to the 
throne. It is true that he had ruled the land wisely and 
justly, and he had loaded many of his followers with 
wealth and honors, yet these very persons had deserted 
him when he most needed their help. 

Richard's crown was found on the battlefield, " hang- 
ing on a hawthorn bush." After the battle, Henry Tu- 
dor, Earl of Richmond, stood on a little mound, with the 
dead bodies of friends and foes lying on either hand ; 

_ and thanked the brave soldiers who had given 

Henry . 

Tudor him the victory. All the people rejoiced and 

i» crowned. shoutedj „ King Henry j King Henry!" and 

then a certain noble earl placed the crown on the head 



1483-1485] LANCASTER AND YORK 153 

of the new king, or, as some say, gave it to him, and he 
placed it on his own head. Again the people shouted 
for' joy and sang the Te Deum, for the wicked king was 
dead, and the future looked very bright before them. 

SUMMARY 

Richard III. secured the throne by usurpation, and, it is 
probable, by the murder of more than one who was likely to 
interfere with his schemes. Having won the crown by unfair 
means, he dared not rule otherwise than well; but public 
opinion against him increased rapidly, and after a reign of 
two years he was slain in the battle of Bosworth Field, and 
Henry Tudor, of the House of Lancaster, became king. This 
was the last battle of the Wars of the Roses. 

One thing in Richard's favor is that he was among the first 
to see the value of the printing-press, and that he did all in 
his power to encourage the making of books in England. 



554 



ENGLAND'S STORY [i4th-i6th Cent 



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CHAPTER VI 

THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 
1485-1603 

19. Henry VII. 1485-1509 

137. A strong rule. Henry VII. was now on the 

throne, and as his grandfather had been a Welshman 
named Owen Tudor, Henry and his son and his three 
grandchildren are known as the Tudors. They were all 
sovereigns who meant to have their own way, and they 
generally succeeded. 

In one respect England was just at that time an easy 
country to rule, for the clergy desired a strong gov- 
ernment, and more than half of the nobles, who might 
have opposed the royal sway, had been killed in the 
Wars of the Roses that had ended with the battle of 
Bosworth Field. The other nobles had much less power 
than their grandfathers had had, for now that so little of 
the old feudalism survived, they could not easily call 
together men to fight in support of whatever cause they 
chose. Henry weakened still more the power of the 
nobles to revolt by forbidding them to give liveries or 
badges to their retainers. The use of gunpowder, too, 
made the king much stronger than any party of nobles, 
since he had control of the cannon of the state, 
and the bows and arrows of the yeomen were a York and 
small matter when opposed to cannon. For Lancaster - 
these reasons it was not difficult for a strong-willed 



156 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[i486 



ruler to make his country 




ELIZABETH OF YORK 

volts, but none that Henry 
Lambert once brought 
simnoi. forward with the 
claim that he was a nephew 
of Edward IV., but not 
many believed in him, and 
he was soon taken pris- 
oner. It was easily found 
out that his real name was 
Lambert Simnel. Henry 
was amused rather than 
angry, and told his officers 
to take the boy to the 
kitchen and let him work 
there in peace. 



more united than it had ever 
been before. There 
was now no excuse 
for continuing the 
Wars of the Roses, 
since Henry, who 
was of the house 
of Lancaster, had 
married Princess 
Elizabeth of the 
house of York, sis- 
ter of the two lit- 
tle princes who 
had been murdered 
in the Tower of 
Londoiv 

138. Pretend- 
ers. Of course 
there were some re- 
needed to fear. A boy was 




HENRY VII. 



I 4 85-I492j THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 1 57 

Not long after this another boy, or rather young man, 
named Perkin Warbeck, was brought forward as a claim- 
ant to the throne. He said that while the older Perkill 
of the two little princes in the Tower had been Warbeck. 
murdered, he himself was the younger ; and he had a plau- 
sible story to tell of how he had made his escape. The 
young man had been taught most carefully the special 
things that the prince would naturally know ; and as he 
was supported by two kings, an emperor, and other 
people of high rank, this attempt to claim the English 
crown was of much more consequence than that of Lam- 
bert Simnel. Many of the Irish and of the Scotch were 
inclined to help Warbeck, and he made various efforts 
to win followers, going from one country to another, or 
to those districts of England where for any reason the 
people were feeling discontented. These efforts to gain 
the crown actually lasted for five years, but at length 
the pretender was shut up in the Tower and finally be- 
headed. 

139. Henry's methods of raising money. A ques- 
tion that was far more important to Henry's mind than 
the claims of any pretenders was that of filling the royal 
treasury. The English people had had considerable 
experience in dealing with kings, and Henry was wise 
enough to know that if the masses of the nation were 
opposed to him, there would be little of either comfort 
or safety for him on the throne. It would not do, then, 
to tax the people as a whole too severely. Moreover, he 
could not tax them without the permission of Parlia- 
ment, and he greatly preferred not to summon Parliament 
too frequently, but to go on quietly in his own way with- 
out giving much opportunity for the making of laws that 
might not be according to his wishes. 

With Parliament not in session and the nation as a 



158 ENGLAND'S STORY [1485-150$ 

whole in his favor, he could venture to take from the 
"Morton's ricn > and this he did. He called for the "be- 
Fork." nevolences " which Edward IV. had originated 
and Richard III. had abolished. One Cardinal Morton 
is said to have invented a plan known as "Morton's 
Fork," by which Henry could get money from any one 
that had it. If a man lived expensively, the king's agent 
would say to him, " You are spending so much on your- 
self that you may rightfully be required to contribute to 
the expenses of your sovereign." This was one tine of 
the fork. The other was quite as bad ; for if a man lived 
simply and without extravagance, the agent would say, 
"Your living costs you so little that you must have 
enough laid by to make a generous gift to the king;" 
and this was the other tine of the fork. 

Another way to get money was by means of what was 
called the " Star-Chamber Court," so named because 
The star stars were painted on the ceiling of the room 
Chamber. m w hich it was held. This court was made up 
of men who supported whatever the king wished to do, 
and their business was to bring up the offences of wealthy 
people who could not easily be tried in the ordinary 
courts, or whose misdemeanors did not fall strictly under 
the laws. It is safe to say that the offences were always 
punished by fines, and that these fines were made as 
large as the court thought the men could be forced to 
pay. 

A third way of getting money was by reviving old 
laws that people had forgotten, and demanding fines 
Reviving whenever one was broken. By these means 
old laws. Henry accumulated a fortune that has been 
estimated at about one hundred million dollars. 

In the marriages arranged for his children, Henry was 
always on the lookout far gain. One daughter became 



5492-1509] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 



159 



the wife of the king of Scotland, and the eldest son, Ar- 
thur, was married to a young girl of fifteen, Wea i t hy 
called Katharine of Aragon, the daughter of carriages. 
Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. When Henry's wife 
died, he did his best to secure another who would bring 
him a large amount of money. First, he sought the 




GENERAL COSTUME IN TIME OF HENRY VII. 



hand of the widow of the king of Naples, but the reign- 
ing sovereign refused to pay her the immense fortune 
that her husband had left her ; and Henry then tried to 
get the sister of Philip, the ruler of Castile. Just at that 
time Philip died, and as Henry thought that Philip's 
widow would have more money than the sister, he applied 
for her hand. She was partially insane, but that did not 
matter to Henry so long as she would bring him a large 
dowry. Her father, Ferdinand of Spain, refused to sanc- 
tion any such marriage, and was so little pleased with 



ICO ENGLAND'S STORY [1492 

the treatment of his daughter Katharine in England that 
it was not until after Henry's death and her second mar- 
riage, this time to Henry's second son, that her complete 
dowry was paid. 

140. Why England did not discover America. It 
was chiefly because of Henry's dislike to spend money 
that the honor of the discovery of America fell to Spain 
rather than to England. Columbus tried in one kingdom 
and another to find a ruler who would provide him with 
ships and money, and at last he sent his brother to Eng- 
land to lay the matter before Henry. The brother was 
captured by pirates, but he had good courage and finally 
made his way to England. Unfortunately he was in rags, 
and his good courage would count for little if he had not 
also proper clothes in which to appear at the king's court. 
There was nothing to do but to go to work and earn 
some clothes. He set about making money by drawing 
maps, and at last he had an interview with Henry. The 
king was much interested, but the plans of Columbus 
would require a large expenditure, and he hesitated. He 
hesitated too long, and in 1492 Columbus set sail by the 
aid of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, and England had 
TheCabois l° st ner chance to discover the New World. 
salL Henry must have been sorry, for five years later 
he encouraged John and Sebastian Cabot, two Vene- 
tians who lived in England, to make a voyage. They 
went directly west and came to Newfoundland, which 
was spoken of as the " New Isle." 

141. Growth of the world. In the days of Julius 
Caesar it was said that Rome " ruled the world," but it 
was a very small world, for people knew little of any 
part except the lands bordering upon the Mediterranean 
Sea. In all the fifteen centuries since Caesar's time the 
world had grown but little larger. Most countries had 



THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 



161 



1492-1497] 

been too much engaged in fighting to explore the ocean 
in search of more land ; but now one discoverer after 
another set out, and when they came back they brought 
wonderful stories of 
the strange new 
country, where the 
rivers were wider and 
the forests greater 
than any in England. 
There were new 
birds and flowers, 
strange beasts and 
reptiles, rumors of 
great stores of gold, 
and, most amazing of 
all, there was a new 
race of people, un- 
like any that had 
been known before. 
It was like a marvel- 
lous fairy tale that 
had suddenly come 
true. How the people 
must have gathered 
around the men who 
had made the voyage, 
and how every boy 
that had watched one 

of the ships come in must have longed to be a sailor, and 
go to see the wonderful sights of the land across the water ! 
If these lands lay in the west, who knew what might 
lie in the east ? Vasco da Gama set sail to see vascoda 
whether he could go around the vast unknown Gama - 
country that lay to the south of the Mediterranean. He 




THE CHAPEL OF HENRY VII., WESTMINSTER 
ABBEY 



162 ENGLAND'S STORY [1485-1509 

succeeded and came to Asia, another world as full of 
marvels as America, and, except for a small part of the 
coast, almost as unknown. 

142. Condition of the kingdom. It was in the midst 
of these exciting times that the boy was growing up who 
was to become Henry VIII., king of England. His 
father and his mother were laid in the chapel of West- 
minster, whose windows were covered with a tracery 
of roses of red and roses of white to mark the union 
of the Houses of Lancaster and York. His father left 
him a realm that was united, prosperous, and accustomed 
to a firm rule ; and in the royal treasury was such a for* 
tune as had never before been in the hands of an Eng- 
lish sovereign. 

SUMMARY 

With Henry VII. began the " personal monarchy " of the 
strong-willed Tudors. Henry had so firm a hold on the 
crown by the decree of Parliament, by the result of battle, 
and by his marriage, that the efforts of pretenders to the 
throne were useless. To obtain money he resorted to benevo- 
lences and other questionable schemes, but any possible re- 
volt of the nobles against a king who controlled the cannon 
of the country was hopeless. He left a full treasury and a 
peaceful, united country, well wonted to obey its sovereign. 
The discovery of a western world and the spread of know- 
ledge resulting from the invention of printing prepared the 
way for the intellectual awakening that was soon to come. 

20. Henry VIIL 1 509-1 547 

143. A popular king. When Henry VIIL came to 
the throne, the country had every reason to rejoice. He 
was about eighteen years of age, handsome, graceful, and 
with a frank, hearty manner that made every one like 



1509] 



THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 



163 



him. He could leap farther and shoot an arrow farther 
than any of his companions. One of the old writers 
says, " It is the prettiest thing in the world to see him 

play tennis." When 

May-Day came, he 
was not satisfied to 
remain in his palace 
and have the green 
boughs brought to 
him; he clothed 
himself and his spe- 
cial attendants in 
white satin in honor 
of the season, and 
went to the woods 
with them. He was 
well educated, and 
he was fond of books 
and of music. He 
wrote songs, some 
of which have come 
down to us. One of 
them, q ueerly 

enough in view of his later life, is about his faithfulness 
in love. It says : — 

" As the holly groweth green, 
And never changeth hue, 
So am I — ever have been — 
To my lady true." 

He liked to wear handsome clothes and to have a good 
time ; and after all the hard, gloomy years of fighting 
and bloodshed, it was a real delight to the English peo- 
ple to see this merry young man enjoy himself. They 
were sure that he would be kind to them, for almost the 




HENRY VIII. 



164 ENGLAND'S STORY [1509-1520 

first thing that he did after he was fairly on the throne 
was to punish the men who had helped his father to ex- 
tort money so unjustly. No one stopped to question 
whether it was these men or Henry VII. who had been 
the more in fault, and no one seems to have noticed that 
this upright young king made no attempt to give back 
the money. 

144. Condition of Wales and Scotland. The Welsh 
no longer revolted, for as Henry was a Tudor, they felt 
that a Welshman was ruling England rather than that 
England was ruling them. Scotland, it is true, made an 
invasion, but there was a terrible battle at Flodden Field, 
Hodden and tne Scotch retreated with a loss of many 
Sis" thousands. Among those who were slain was 

the Scotch king, and now there was little fear 
of any further trouble with Scotland. 

145. Three young rulers. On the continent Henry 
wished at first for an alliance with France ; and to bring 
it about he gave the hand of his sister Mary, a merry, 
fascinating girl of seventeen, to the aged French king, 
though she wished to marry a nobleman named Charles 
Brandon. The French king soon died, and now the 
ruler of France, Francis I., and the German emperor, 
Charles V., both ambitious young men, were each eager 
for Henry's influence and aid. Charles came to Eng- 
land to visit him, and Francis invited Henry to a meeting 
in France. 

The English still held Calais, and this meeting was 
The palace to De on a plain between their castle and one 
at Calais. belonging to the French. Great were the pre- 
parations. Henry sent over more than two thousand 
workmen to build a temporary palace with stone walls 
and glass windows. The roof was to be of canvas " cu- 
riously garnished." The rooms were to be larger than 



?52o] 



THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 



I6 5 



those of any English house, and the walls were to be 
hung with tapestry embroidered with silk and gold. 
In two months the building was ready, and Henry sailed 
from Dover for Calais with a fleet of those top-heavy, 
castle-like vessels that look in the pictures as if they 
would topple over at a breath. 

Three weeks the young kings spent on the " Field of 
the Cloth of Gold," as the place was afterwards 
called from the magnificence of the dress and of the cioth 
the entertainment. There was tilting, and there of Gol<L 
ivere tournaments and all kinds of feats of arms, at which, 




ENGLISH WAR SHIP WHICH CONVEYED HENRY VIII. TO FRANCE 



of course, the two kings always won. Finally, the sover- 
eigns exchanged gifts and bade farewell to each other. 
In spite of all the lavishness and all the promises of 



166 ENGLAND'S STORY [H53-* <52i 

brotherhood, Henry's help was given to Charles ; but by 
and by when Francis was taken prisoner, Henry went to 
his aid, though he exacted liberal payment for his assist- 
Henry'sfor- ance - Henry's aim was to keep the power of 
eign policy. Francis and of Charles as nearly equal as possi- 
ble, lest one or the other should become too strong for 
England to resist. 

146. The Renaissance. Henry was interested not 
only in statecraft but in the wonderful new learning that 
was spreading over the world. In 1453, the year that 
the Hundred Years' War closed, the Turks captured 
Constantinople. Many learned Greeks lived in this city, 
and they went away to Italy, especially to Florence. 
Long before Caesar came to Britain, the Greeks were 
a remarkable nation. They had great poets and his 
torians and philosophers, and their sculptors did finer 
work than any one has done since those days. For 
centuries people had forgotten all this. Hardly any one 
in England could read Greek, and the clergy called it a 
wicked and heathenish tongue. When the Greeks came 
to Florence and taught the Florentines to read their 
language, men began to realize what valuable old books 
there were in the world. This new interest in the old 
knowledge is called the Renaissance, or the new birth. 
It spread rapidly over the continent, for printing had 
come at just the right time to help people to get copies 
of the old manuscripts. England soon became inter- 
ested, for English scholars went to Italy to study, and 
they brought books and knowledge back with them to 
their own country. The influence of the Renaissance 
had been felt in England even before Henry came to the 
throne, and he had always been ready to strengthen it. 

147. Henry as a theologian. Henry had quite an 
ambition to be known as a literary man and a theologian, 



1521-1528} THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 167 

and before long the opportunity presented itself. In 
Germany, Martin Luther, who was a monk and a pro- 
fessor at the University of Wittenberg, had declared that 
reforms were needed in the church. He had refused to 
obey certain mandates of the pope and had been excom- 
municated. Henry wrote a book on the sub- Defender of 
ject in favor of the pope's position, and received theFaith - 
as a reward the title of " Defender of the Faith." 

148. Henry's first marriage. Thus far matters had 
gone according to the will of the king. He was power- 
ful at home and abroad. His kingdom was prosperous, 
and he had won glory as a writer and theologian and 
as a faithful son of the church ; but one thing began to 
trouble him greatly. Who would inherit his crown ? 
He had a daughter Mary, but no woman had ever 
ruled the English nation. Before his father's death, when 
Henry was only twelve years old, it had been agreed 
that the boy should marry Katharine of Aragon, the 
widow of his older brother Arthur. It was against the 
law to marry a brother's widow, but the pope had given 
the special permission of the church, and two months 
after the accession Henry and Katharine were married. 

149. His struggle for a divorce. Henry now de- 
clared that he ought not to have become Katharine's 
husband, even if the pope did give him permission, and 
he wished the present pope to declare that the marriage 
had never been lawful. It would be easier to have con- 
fidence in his scruples of conscience, if he had not al- 
ready chosen the woman whom he wished to jLoJl0 
take in Katharine's stead. She was a young Bole y :tt - 
girl named Anne Boleyn, daughter of an English no- 
bleman. As a child of seven she had gone to France 
when Henry's sister Mary married the old French king. 
When the king died, Mary married Charles Brandon, 



168 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[152b 



and came to England to persuade her royal brother to 
forgive her husband and herself; but the little Anne 
remained in France with the wife of Francis I. When 
at last she returned to England and appeared at court, 




WOLSEY AND HIS SUITE 



Henry was greatly pleased with her beauty and anima- 
tion, and he determined that she should be his queen. 

He had a minister named Wolsey, who, as he trusted, 
could gain the pope's consent to a marriage with Anne. 
Cardinal Wolsey had for years devoted himself to carry- 
woisey. i n g ou t every wish of the king's and to increas- 
ing his greatness. This was exactly what pleased Henry. 
He could be free to do what he chose, and yet feel that 
everything was going on as he would have desired. As 
a reward, Wolsey had been made archbishop and lord 
chancellor, and finally cardinal. He lived in a beautiful 
palace, "where one traverses eight rooms before reach- 
ing his audience chamber," says an old writer. The de- 
scription of his house sounds like a chapter from the 



! 5 28] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 169 

"Arabian Nights." There were beautiful carpets and 
silken tapestries. It is said that he had five hundred 
servants, and that some of them wore heavy chains of 
gold and garments of satin and of velvet, as if they were 
noblemen. When the cardinal went out, two attendants 
walked before him and called, " Make way for my lord 
cardinal." At the house-door he would mount a mule 
saddled with crimson velvet, and two men would go with 
him, each bearing a great silver cross, while a long line 
of nobles followed in his train. 

Although he lived in such splendor, he was thoughtful 
of the poor, and tried to do for them what was just and 
kind. As all affairs of state and church were really 
in his hands, he did for many years very nearly what 
he chose. The Venetian ambassador wrote home that 
when he first came to England, Wolsey would say, "His 
Majesty will do so and so ; " a little later he would say, 
" We shall do so and so ;" and finally he said, "/ shall 
do so and so." 

150. The Pope's refusal. Inasmuch as Wolsey had 
shown so much skill in managing the affairs of the nation 
at home and abroad, it is no wonder that Henry believed 
his minister could get him a divorce from Katharine. 
Wolsey seems at first to have favored the idea, think- 
ing that Henry would marry a French princess, and that 
while the king might have a son, and then there would 
be no question about the succession, he himself might 
by the influence of France and England be chosen for 
the next pope. However that may be, the pope was in 
a difficult position. To declare that the act of the pre- 
ceding pope was wrong was a serious matter, and more- 
over, the queen was an aunt of the powerful Charles Vc 
There was a long delay, but at last the pope refused to 
annul the marriage. Both Henry and Anne Boleyn be 



17° 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1529-1534 



lieved that Wolsey had not done his best for them, and 
all in a moment the minister's wealth and position were 
taken from him. The vindictiveness of the pair went 
so far that he was arrested on a charge of treason, but 

he died before he could 
be brought to trial. 

151. Henry as head 
of the church. 1534. 
Henry then appealed 
to the universities, 
trusting, it is probable, 
to bribes and threats 
rather than to the truth 
of his cause. Then he 
demanded that the 
English clergy should 
uphold him, and after 
a delay of five years he 
married Anne. The 
pope threatened him 
with excommunication 
if he did not put her away, but Henry retorted in 1534 
by forcing Parliament to declare that he himself was 
the only head of the church in England, and that who- 
ever denied this was guilty of treason. Henry still 
retained his title of " Defender of the Faith," and had 
no sympathy with the Protestant Reformation, which 
had begun with the teachings of Luther. The re- 
sult of this peculiar condition of things was that if a 
Burned or man was a Protestant and agreed with Luther, 
beheaded? ne m jght be burned as a heretic; while if he 
was a Roman Catholic and said that the pope was the 
head of the church, he might be beheaded as a traitor. 
Some of the best men in the kingdom were put to death, 




THOMAS WOLSEY 



1534-1536] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 171 

and among them were two especially upright, conscien- 
tious men, Bishop Fisher and Sir Thomas More. More 
was a man who could see what was right, no matter what 
the people around him thought ; for instance, children 
were still treated as cruelly as the little Henry VI. had 
been, but More would never allow any harshness in his 
family. He knew so well what a kingdom should be that 
he wrote a little book called "Utopia," mean- 
ing Nowhere, which tells the story of a happy 
country where no one was rich and no one was poor, 
where no one worked too hard, and no one was idle. 
Every one had a pleasant house and garden and leisure 
to read. Gold was used for the chains of criminals, and 
pearls and diamonds were given to children for play- 
things. Kings ruled for the sake of their people, and 
every one was treated justly and kindly. 

The pope excommunicated Henry, but the king re- 
taliated by taking possession of the smaller English mon- 
asteries, a deed that had been suggested a cen- Henry 
tury before. Their lands were given to royal JJraSi?" 
favorites, their gold and silver vessels and images teries. 
were melted and made into coin, and their books, many of 
which would to-day be worth far more than their weight 
in gold, were torn up or burned. The monks and nuns 
received small pensions, and that was their only recom- 
pense. 

152. Suffering of the poor. This destruction of the 
monasteries, many hundreds of them, was one of several 
causes that brought distress upon the poor of the king- 
dom, for the hungry had always been sure of a meal 
at the convent gate. There were other reasons for the 
suffering. One was that the king had put so much 
cheap metal into the coins that prices had risen. It 
prices and wages had gone up at the same rate, the 



1/2 ENGLAND'S STORY [1346-1536 

poor would not have suffered so severely; but wages 
rose slowly while prices rose rapidly, and there was great 
destitution of the plainest necessities of life. Still an- 
other reason was the prevalence of sheep-raising. While 

the poorer people lived on the manors, they 
farmsand were sure of food and shelter at least, whether 
inciosures. ^ e y were sick or well, but when so many vil- 
leins became free after the Black Death and the battle 
of Crecy, and the price of labor rose, men who owned 
manors turned them into great sheep-farms, because one 
man and a dog were all the help needed to care for a 
large number of sheep. The same thing was done in 
Henry's reign ; and, worse than this, the commons where 
the poor had always had the right to pasture a cow or 
keep a pig were inclosed for the landlord's sheep. This 
seizure of the commons, taken together with the loss of 
help from the convents, made the poor who were old and 
feeble suffer severely. Many of those that were strong 
and well and could find no work became robbers and 
beggars. They roamed about the land, gathering in the 
forests through which the roads ran, and robbed or mur- 
dered unguarded travellers. The whole kingdom seemed 
to have become a nest of thieves. 

All sorts of laws were passed, not to make life better 
for the poor, but simply to prevent their being a danger 

to the rich. One law was that every " sturdy 
against beggar" was to be whipped and told to go tc 
beggars. ^ e pl ace in which he was born ; and if he was 
too long in making the journey, he was to be whipped 
again in every village. This was the penalty for the 
first offence. If a man was found begging a second time, 
he was to be whipped again and the upper part of his 
right ear was to be cut off. The third time he was to 
be put into jail and tried, and, if found guilty, to be 



1536-1537] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 173 

hanged. There was no effort made to reform the " sturdy 
beggar " or to provide work for him, and no plan was 
made to assist the aged and the sick ; the whole aim of 
the law seemed to be to get rid of troublesome people. 

153. A third marriage. While these things were 
going on, Henry, instead of trying to find a wise remedy 
for the evils, was again considering the question of mar- 
riage. He was apparently somewhat tired of Anne 
Boleyn, though three years earlier he had overthrown 
the church and the law to marry her. She had brought 
him a daughter, Elizabeth, but he still had no son. 
There were plenty of people to suggest that the power- 
ful Charles V. would never accept a child of Katharine's 
successor as the lawful inheritor of the crown. Others 
hinted that the lack of a son was a proof of the anger of 
Heaven at his second marriage. It was not at all diffi- 
cult to find people to testify to whatever would please 
the king, and the result was that after three years of mar- 
riage Anne was accused of misconduct, and her head was 
struck off with a sword. The next day the king married 
Jane Seymour ; and Parliament met at once to declare 
that the Princess Elizabeth, as well as the Princess Mary, 
should never inherit the crown. 

Jane Seymour died, leaving one child, who was named 
Edward, and now Henry had a son to whom he could 
leave the crown. Nevertheless, he straightway ordered 
his councillors to find him a new bride. Thomas Crom- 
well, who had taken the place of Wolsey, was very de- 
sirous that the next queen of England should be a 
Protestant, so that the Roman Catholics might gain no 
ground in the realm. Henry did not yield at once. It 
is said that he proposed to the Duchess of Milan that 
she should share his throne, and that she replied with 
a profound courtesy : — 



174 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[i 537-1 539 



" I humbly thank your majesty for the honor that you 
do me. If I had two heads, one should be at your 
majesty's service; but as I have only one, I prefer to 
remain as I am." 

154. Henry's other marriages. Cromwell was trying 
to interest the king in one Anne of Cleves, a German 
princess, and he wrote of her to Henry, " She excelleth 
as far the duchess as the golden sun excelleth the silvery 

moon." He admitted 
that she knew neither 
French, Latin, nor Eng- 
lish, but he was sure 
that she would soon 
learn to converse with 
the king. She spent 
much of her time in 
sewing, and was igno- 
rant of music ; but, he 
said, "They take it here 
in Germany for a re- 
buke that great ladies 
should be learned or 
have any knowledge of 
music." Finally, a famous artist was engaged to paint 
the portrait of this paragon of beauty and goodness, and 
the king agreed to marry her. 

There were great preparations for her reception, but 
one of the king's officers said after his first glimpse of 
her that he was never so much dismayed in his life ; 
and when Henry met her, he was, as the record declares, 
"marvellously astonished and abashed." He embraced 
her with all propriety, but he hardly spoke at all, and quite 
forgot to give her the present that he had brought for 
her. It is said that she was really exceedingly homely 




THOMAS CROMWELL 



1539-1547] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 175 

and awkward as well as dull and slow. Henry married 
her, but in his wrath he sent Cromwell to the block ; and 
after a few months he obtained a divorce from Anne on 
the ground that, as he had married her against his will, 
he had not given his full consent. He had two more 
wives ; one he beheaded and one survived him. 

155. Succession to the throne. Henry was not yet 
at rest about the succession to the throne. There were 
the three children, Mary, Elizabeth, and Edward. Ed- 
ward was not a strong child, and the king was afraid that 
he would not live. There must be a plan made for the 
kingdom if he died, for Henry could not bear the thought 
that the crown should pass from his family, and he was 
determined that even if no woman had ever ruled Eng- 
land, a woman should rule if Edward did not live. His 
obedient Parliament had already passed acts saying that 
Mary was the heir or that Elizabeth was the heir or that 
neither of them was the heir, and finally that they all had 
^ust claim, and now it was ready to do whatever this 
arbitrary sovereign demanded. Henry set to work to 
arrange the order of succession. 

One party in the kingdom believed that the marriage 
with Katharine of Aragon had been unlawful, and that, 
therefore, her daughter Mary could not rule. Henry's 
Another believed that the marriage with Anne wilL 
Boleyn had been unlawful, and that therefore her daugh- 
ter Elizabeth could not rule. No one could object to 
Edward's succession, as both Katharine and Anne had 
died before his mother married Henry ; moreover, he 
was a boy; so Henry made what seems the wisest will 
that he could have made under the circumstances, and 
decreed that, first, Edward should rule, then Mary, and 
then Elizabeth. Parliament agreed to do just what he 
wished, and promised to follow this order. Whether 



176 ENGLAND'S STORY [1509-1553 

anything better could have been done is a question, but 
many a man trembled as he thought of what the future 
might bring. 

SUMMARY 

Henry VIII. came to the throne with the advantage of an 
unquestioned claim and a full treasury. The Welsh were 
content, and the Scotch were subdued. By a wise foreign 
policy, Henry avoided trouble with France and Germany. He 
ruled the land with an absolutism by which, indeed, quiet 
and order were secured, though the power of Parliament was 
greatly lessened. His interest in the new learning strength- 
ened the influence of the Renaissance in England. His de- 
termination not to submit to the pope's refusal to annul his 
first marriage resulted in establishing the independence of the 
national church. In this reign the sufferings of the poor were 
multiplied by the suppression of the monasteries, together with 
the spread of the custom of sheep-raising and "inclosing." 
Beggary and robbery increased in spite of severe penalties. 
By Henry's will, to which Parliament agreed, the crown was 
to descend to Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth, in the order 
given. 

21. Edward VI. 1547-1553 

156. A lovable king. A boy of only nine years 
was now at the head of the English nation, and a great 
change it must have been to have this gentle, lovable, 
thoughtful child for a ruler instead of his selfish, arbi- 
trary father. His tutors were never weary of writing 
about his goodness and his learning, and if half that they 
said was true, he really must have been quite a wonder. 
They claimed that when he was thirteen he understood 
French, English, and Latin thoroughly, and had studied 
seven languages to some extent, to say nothing of hav- 
ing learned more or less of logic, music, natural philo- 
sophy, and many matters of state. 



1547] 



THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 



177 



When he went to church the sermons were preached 
expressly for him. They were very long, but if they 
were all as interesting as Bishop Latimer's, he did not 
deserve a very great amount of praise for listening to 
them attentively. In one sermon, preached to him when 
he was eleven years old, Latimer told about his own 
early life, how com- 
fortably his father 
lived on a small 
farm, and how 
many cows and 
sheep he kept. No 
wonder that the 
little king listened 
when the bishop 
went on to say that 
four or five times as 
much rent was now 
demanded for the 
same farm, so that 
the present holder 
had a hard strug- 
gle to keep from 
starving. Edward 

must have made a great many plans about what he 
would do when he was eighteen, but until then he hac 
no power whatever, except that councillors would natu- 
rally hesitate to do anything for which they thought that 
the king would blame them when he was grown up. 

157. Changes in the church. Edward's mother's 
brother, the Duke of Somerset, was rmde Protector. 
In Henry's reign a new translation of the Biote had been 
made by Tyndale and widely circulated, and people were 
thinking much about religious matters. They were per- 





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EDWARD VI. 



178 ENGLAND'S STORY [1547-1551 

haps more ready for changes than they had been in 
Henry's time, but the duke went on with his innovations 
far more rapidly than people wished to follow him. For 
Removal of one thing, there were to be no images, crosses, 
images, etc. or pictures in the churches, and the service was 
to be in English. To people who had seen hanging on 
the walls of the church scenes in the life of Christ and 
in the lives of the saints, and had loved them ever since 
they were children, it seemed a very wicked thing to pull 
them down, and to break beautiful stained glass windows 
that represented stories in the Bible; while men and 
women who had heard the church service in Latin all 
their lives felt as if it was undignified and irreverent to 
repeat it in every-day English. 

The Duke of Somerset and the other Protestants 
believed that what they were doing was right, and the 
Roman Catholics believed that all these changes were 
wrong ; but the duke was in power, and the changes were 
made. He had Archbishop Cranmer and others compile 
Compulsory ^ e Book °f Common Prayer, which is now 
use of the known as the Prayer Book of Edward VI. It 
common was taken in large part from the old Roman 
Prayer. Catholic service, but it was in English, and the 
sound of the words was strange and unfamiliar, so that 
many people would have disliked it even if it had been 
an exact translation. Instead of waiting a while and 
introducing the book gradually, the duke declared that 
it must be used at once in all the churches ; and when 
revolts came, as they did come in great numbers, he put 
them down with the utmost severity. 

158. The Duke of Northumberland becomes Pro- 
tector. There were other reasons for discontent, for the 
work of inclosing the common pasture land was still go- 
ing on, and every inclosure drove many people from their 



I55I-I553] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 179 

homes. The Duke of Somerset had so much sympathy 
with these poor people that he proposed to forbid so 
much "inclosing." This made the rich iand-owners his 
enemies : and even the poor looked upon him as an 
enemy when, with all his thoughtfulness for them, he 
felt obliged to suppress their revolts with a strong hand. 




EDWARD VI. AND COUNCIL 



The result was that he was finally imprisoned and exe- 
cuted, and the Duke of Northumberland became Protec- 
tor in his place. This duke had a crafty scheme in his 
mind whic'i was to come out a little later. 

159. The Blue-Coat School. The government was 
still taking possession of church property, but here the 
boy king had a word to say. He was interested in other 
boys, and wished that the poorest one in his kingdom 
might have a chance to be educated. He had no author- 
ity, but it is thought that by his influence part of the 



t8o 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[I55I-I553 



property that had belonged to the church was devoted 
to schools for boys. The most famous of these schools 

he founded in London. 
It is named Christ's 
Hospital, but it is of- 
tener called the Blue- 
Coat School, from the 
peculiar clothes that 
the boys wear. The 
coat is blue with a 
long skirt coming down 
almost to the ground. 
The belt is red, the 
stockings yellow, and 
the shoes have large 
buckles. The boys 
wear no hats summer 
or winter. This was 
the ordinary dress of a 
schoolboy in Edward's day, and its style has never been 
changed. 

160. Northumberland's plan. The young king was 
to be in full possession of his kingdom when he was 
eighteen, but it was soon admitted that there was little 
probability of his living to that age. Here was North- 
umberland's opportunity. By the will of Henry VIII., 
if all three of his children died without leaving any chil- 
dren, the crown was to go to the descendants of his 
younger sister Mary, who had married Charles Brandon. 
One of Mary's granddaughters was a gentle, lovable girl 
named Jane Grey, and Northumberland had brought 
it about that she should marry his son, Lord Guilford 
Dudley, for what he planned was to make Lady Jane 
queen of England. 




LADY JANE GREY 



1553] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS l8l 

He persuaded Edward that he, as king, had as much 
right to make a will as his father had had. Then he pic- 
tured what terrible consequences there would Edward ' S 
be if his sister Mary were allowed to become wUL 
queen, for she was a strong Roman Catholic, and all that 
the Protestants had done would be undone. Edward 
was only sixteen, and he was weak and ill. He would 
naturally believe what his guardian told him, and the 
result was that he did sign a will, setting aside not only 
Mary but also Elizabeth, and giving the crown to his 
second cousin, Lady Jane. Soon after this he died. 

Lady Jane was a gentle young girl of seventeen. She 
had been brought up very strictly, and hardly LadyJane 
knew what it was to have a will of her own. It Gre y- 
was still the custom to treat children harshly, and her 
parents would have thought that they were not training 
her properly if they had treated her in any other fashion. 
The only one who seems to have been gentle and kind 
to her was her tutor, " Master Aylmer," and she used to 
long for the hours to come that she was to spend with 
him, and could be free from the pinches and blows that 
she continually received from her parents. She was so 
happy with " Master Aylmer " that she became a most 
excellent scholar She had studied Latin, Greek, Italian, 
and French, and had begun Hebrew. She did not wish 
to be married, but when her parents commanded her to 
marry Lord Guilford Dudley, she obeyed. 

Just before Edward's death, Northumberland told her 
that she was to be queen of England. She The 
wept and pleaded to be free, but to no avail. 2"™! ve " 
Northumberland said that she had the best Q uee *. 
right to the throne, that Edward had willed it to her, 
and that she alone could save the land from falling into 
the hands of the Roman Catholics. At last she was 



182 ENGLAND'S STORY [1547-1553 

persuaded that it must be as he had said. She yielded, 
and set to work to be a queen as conscientiously as she 
had studied her lessons. 

When Edward died, Northumberland tried to keep the 
news secret until he could get possession of Mary and 
shut her up in the Tower ; but she too had friends on 
the watch. They told her at once of the king's death, 
and she took refuge in a strong castle so near the sea 
that she could escape to the emperor of Germany if 
there was need of flight. The council proclaimed Lady 
Jane queen. For twelve days she was on the throne, 
and that is why she is sometimes called the " Twelve- 
days' Queen." 

161. Mary becomes queen. Mary had no idea of giv- 
ing up her kingdom. She sent her claim to the council, 
but they told her to " submit and behave as a good sub- 
ject." Instead of submitting, however, she collected 
around her the strongest members of the Roman Cath- 
olic nobility, and also many Protestants, for all were 
weary of uncertainties, and were disgusted with the 
transparent selfishness of Northumberland. She was 
accepted as queen in one place after another. The fleet 
stood firmly by her ; the army refused to fight against 
her ; and soon the council, with Northumberland at their 
head, proclaimed her as queen. Northumberland's sud- 
den change of allegiance was of no avail, for he was put 
to death, and Lady Jane and her husband were sent to 
the Tower. 

SUMMARY 

The Book of Common Prayer was compiled, and the Pro 
testant faith established. The Duke of Somerset, who wa^ 
Protector, aroused the enemity of both rich and poor, and was 
executed. The Duke of Northumberland, who succeeded to 



1547-1553] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 



183 



the office, persuaded Edward to will the crown to Lady Jane 
Grey, wife of Northumberland's son. For twelve days she 
reigned, then Mary became queen. An important event of 
this reign is the founding of many free Protestant schools for 
boys. 



22. Mary. 1553-1558 

i62. Coronation of Mary. In a few weeks after the 
imprisonment of the 
"Twelve-days' 
Queen," Mary was 
crowned. She wore 
a rich blue velvet 
gown trimmed with 
ermine. On her 
head was a hoop of 
gold loaded with pre- 
cious stones, and 
from it hung over 
her shoulders a veil of 
tissue of gold spark- 
ling with gems. It 
was all very brilliant, 
but the crown was 
so heavy that she 
was often obliged 
to hold up her head with both bands. 

163. Mary's hard life. Mary had had a hard life. 
Until she was almost grown up, she was treated w r ith all 
the respect that could be shown to the daughter of a 
powerful king. Then, after Henry's divorce, everything 
was suddenly changed. Her own mother was sent away, 
and the honors that had been showered upon Mary were 
given to Anne Bolevn's daughter, the babv Elizabeth. 




QUEEN MARY TUDOR, OR MARY I. 



184 ENGLAND'S STORY [1553 

164. Mary's religion. Mary was so fiim a Roman 
Catholic that she even resisted her royal little brother 
when he bade her no longer hear mass. King though he 
was, she wrote him to the effect that his letter must have 
come from his councillors rather than himself, for he 
was hardly old enough to be a judge in matters of reli- 
gion. Her unhappiness had been so associated with the 
changes in the church that she could hardly help feeling 
a great bitterness toward the Protestant innovations and 
those who had brought them about, and she was as deter- 
mined to restore the old ways as her father had been 
to alter them. Parliament was almost as obedient as it 
had been to Henry VIII. It repealed the laws against 
the power of the pope in England, and made, or rather 
revived, the law for the burning of those whose belief 
differed from that of the sovereign. On one point, how- 
ever, Parliament was unyielding ; it would not restore to 
the church the land that had been taken from the monas- 
teries. Indeed, such a restoration could hardly have 
been expected, for the greater part, of this land had been 
divided among various noble families, and members of 
most of them had seats in the House of Lords. 

165. Mary's marriage. No sooner was Mary on the 
throne than the whole country was eager for her mar- 
riage. Through the troublous times of this age, the first 
thing in the minds of the people as a whole seems to 
have been the wish for a firm, just control, and an un- 
disputed succession to the throne; and they thought 
that if Mary had children, the crown would descend 
peacefully to them, and the country would be at rest. 
There were various suitors for her hand, and England 
hoped that she would marry an Englishman. Unfortu- 
nately, Mary greatly admired a portrait that she had 
seen of her cousin Philip, a Spanish prince ; and although 



1554] 



THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 



I8 5 



she had never met the young man, she was determined 

to marry him. Parliament pleaded as earnestly as it 

dared, but Mary replied that in so important a matter 

she should look to God and not to Parliament for advice. 

The articles of marriage were drawn up, giving Philip 

the title of king, but leaving all power in the hands of 

the queen. Indeed, the whole agreement was BngUg]i 

in favor of the English, but thev were not dislike of 

" . Philip, 

pacified. "Philip will agree to anything — on 

parchment," — they said, "but when he is once king of 

England, he will care nothing for his contract." 

There were two 
reasons why the 
English would 
have preferred al- 
most any one else 
rather than Philip 
of Spain. One was 
that in Spain the 
opposition to the 
changes in the 
church was strong- 
est. 

The other rea- 
son was that Philip 
would probably be 
king of Spain be- 
fore many years 
had passed ; and as 

Spain was a rich, powerful country, England was afraid 
of becoming nothing but an unimportant province of a 
great kingdom. Mary was firm, but the general feeling 
was so against this marriage that the street-boys of Lon- 
don pelted with snowballs t the Spanish ambassador's 




PHILIP II. 



1 86 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[IS55-I556 



" harbingers," or officers who went in advance to secure 
proper accommodations for the noble and his followers. 
A game of "English and Spaniards" was invented, in 
which there was a pretence of hanging the boy that acted 
as the Spanish prince. It was not all boys' play, for 
there was a serious revolt, and Mary felt so afraid that 
there would be another, and that the people would want 
either Elizabeth or Lady Jane for queen, that she signed 
the death warrant of Lady Jane and Lord Dudley, and 
shut Elizabeth up in the Tower. 

166. Persecutions. The marriage took place. Al- 
most at once the old laws for burning heretics were 
revived and enforced. The first man to suffer was John 
Rogers, whose picture is in the " New England Primer," 
the famous little book that was studied by all the Puritan 
children of New England. Then came Bishop Latimer, 

who used to preach be- 
fore the boy king, Ed- 
ward VI. ; then Hoop- 
er, Ridley, Cranmer, 
and many others ; the 
number is estimated at 
from two hundred to 
four hundred. It is be- 
cause so many were 
put to death in this 
short reign of five years 
that the queen is some- 
times called "Bloody 
Mary ; " but we might 
dsk whether it would not be more fairly "Bloody Philip." 
" The persecution continued till the death of Mary. 
Sometimes milder counsels prevailed ; and on one occa- 
sion all the prisoners were discharged on the easy con- 




BURNING OF JOHN ROGERS 
From the New England Primer 



I554-'55S] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS l8 7 

dition of taking an oath to be true to God and the 
queen But these intervals were short ; and, after some 
suspense, the spirit of intolerance was sure to resume the 
ascendency " ' Never was there a ruler who had greater 
need of trusty advisers, and only one of her councillors 
was true to her; the others had all been connected with 
the conspiracy. The one person in whose advice she had 
most confidence was her cousin the emperor; and he 
never forgot to care for his own interests. 

167 Philip's desertion. One cannot help feeling a 
orofound pity for Queen Mary. She was sincere, she 
was earnest, and she did without a shade of hesitancy 
that which she believed to be right. After the days of 
her early girlhood, she can hardly have had many happy 
hours She had withstood her whole nation for the love 
of Philip, and he cared nothing whatever for her He 
was ten years younger than she, and she was so frail that 
she knew her life would not be a long one ; but, although 
she did everything in her power to persuade the English 
people to promise that he should be their next sovereign, 
they refused. It was only in the hope of becoming king 
of England that Philip had agreed to marry Mary, and 
after they had been married a few months, he discovered 
that the air of the land did not agree with him, and he 
returned to Spain. Only once did he come to visit her, 
and then for but a short stay. _ 

168. England loses Calais. 1558. Spam had been 
fighting with France, and though England was not in- 
volved in the quarrel, Mary had entered into the war to 
please her husband. The one possession that England 
still held in France was Calais, which had once been 
strongly fortified ; but in the previous reigns so much 
Lney had been wasted that the defences of the forts 
had not been kept in order. France now attacked 
1 Lingard, Hist, of England. 



188 ENGLAND'S STORY [1554-1558 

Calais and won. England no longer owned an inch of 
ground in the kingdom that lay across the channel. 

Not a word of regret had Mary for all the lives that 
had been taken during her short reign ; but for the loss 
of Calais she grieved deeply during the few weeks that 
she lived after its capture. "When I die," she said, 
" Calais will be found written on my heart." 



SUMMARY 

The reign of Mary was marked by persecutions so bitter as 
:o prepare the way for a religious reaction and the joyful 
reception of a Protestant queen. Mary's marriage to Philip 
of Spain strengthened Spain's hope of future dominion in 
England ; and the loss of Calais left England without an inch 
of ground in the country where her power had formerly been 
so great. 

23. Elizabeth. 1 558-1603 

169. Elizabeth's early life. Elizabeth's life had been 
quite different from that of her sister Mary. Elizabeth 
was too young at her mother's death to remember the 
execution, while Mary could never forget the long years 
during which her mother was made so unhappy. While 
Mary reigned, she was always afraid that there would be 
plots to put Elizabeth in her place, and she had had 
every motion of her sister's closely watched. Eliza- 
beth had passed years in danger, but Mary had passed 
years in unhappiness. Mary could hardly help becoming 
embittered, while Elizabeth had only grown wary and 
cautious. She had been released from imprisonment, but 
she was wise enough to see that the only way for her to 
save her life, or at any rate to keep out of the Tower, 
was to express no opinions and to have as little said 



15587 



THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 



189 



about herself as possible. The best thing for her to do 
was to live quietly in the country, and that was what 
she had done. She was fond of study, and much of 




QUEEN ELIZABETH 



the last few years before she came to the throne she had 
spent in reading Latin and Greek. 

170. Protestant or Roman Catholic? When Mary 
died in 1558 and Elizabeth was proclaimed queen, it is 



190 ENGLAND'S STORY [1558 

probable that hardly one person in the land knew what 
her thoughts were on the great questions of the day, 
or was really sure whether she was a Roman Catholic 
or a Protestant. Philip, who had now become king of 
Spain, had not given up all hope of wearing the crown 
of England, and within one month he suggested that 
she should announce herself a Roman Catholic and take 
him for a husband. Even then Elizabeth did not express 
herself at all definitely, but only received his proposal 
with the utmost courtesy, though she postponed giving 
him an answer, saying that she must wait to ask the 
advice of her Parliament. She had set free all who were 
in prison because of their opinions on religious matters, 
but it was not at all uncommon to perform such deeds of 
generosity on coming to the throne, and no one could 
guess from this act what she really thought. Her acces- 
sion occurred in November, and every one about the 
queen watched her eagerly. She named the men for her 
council, but that did not solve the question ; for while she 
chose some who were Protestants, she retained in office 
many Roman Catholics whom her sister had selected. 
She was quite accustomed to being watched, and she 
gave no hint on which side she should stand. All waited 
for Christmas. If she was a Roman Catholic, she would 
surely hear mass on that day. To the last moment she 
concealed her thoughts, for she even remained in the 
chapel for a while, listening to the service ; but when 
the mass was to be offered, she rose and left the room. 
She had made her choice, and in two days she issued 
a proclamation that made it even more clear that she 
would rule as a Protestant queen. 

171. The coronation. While Philip was waiting, 
patiently or impatiently, for his answer, the time set for 
the coronation arrived, a day chosen by the royal astrol- 



*SS&] 



THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 



I 9 I 



oger. Elizabeth knew something of the history of her 
throne, and she had decided that to succeed, she might 
rule without the favor of the church, and without the 
support of the nobles, but she must have the good will of 
the masses of the people. She showed this decision 
even while being carried in state through London at her 
coronation, for when addresses were made to her, she 




QUEEN ELIZABETH CARRIED IN STATE 



would have her chair stopped in some place where she 
could hear distinctly, and if she did not understand, she 
would ask to have the words repeated. If she saw that 
the humblest citizen wished to speak to her or to give her 
a handful of flowers, she waited with as much apparent 
interest as when the city gave her one thousand marks 
in gold. 

172. Elizabeth's difficulties. There is no doubt 
that the people were rejoiced to have Elizabeth for their 



t g 2 ENGLAND'S STORY [1558 

queen, but H was not all rejoicing and addresses of wel- 
come and gifts of flowers and gold ; there were many 
difficulties to meet. Perhaps the hardest of all was the 
fact that there were two prominent religious parties, and 
she must be friendly to both. Still, if she showed any 
Three leaning toward the Roman Catholics, the Protes- 

reiigious tants would no longer stand by her ; and on the 
other hand, if she carried out the Protestant 
ideas too rapidly, the Roman Catholics might rise against 
her, and they had a candidate of their own faith with a 
good claim to the throne. To make matters even more 
complicated, a third party was beginning to become impor- 
tant, the Puritans, who were not satisfied to have Protes- 
tantism established. They wished to "purify" the 
church, they said ; and this meant that they wished to 
destroy every trace of the Church of Rome. 

There was danger that these same questions would 
The make trouble for the queen abroad. The pope 

liSeth's cou ld easily rouse opposition, for France was 
marriage, always ready to strike a blow at England. Eliz- 
abeth could keep on good terms with Spain only by be- 
coming a Roman Catholic and marrying Philip. She had 
said to Philip's ambassador that she must consult Par- 
liament, but when Parliament very meekly begged her to 
marry, she replied that she was pleased with their love 
and care for her welfare and that of the kingdom, and 
especially with the manner of their petition, for it would 
have been a great presumption in them, so she said, to 
venture to direct or command her whom they were 
bound to obey. She would not give them the least hint 
whether she intended to marry or not. She could hardly 
venture to marry either a Protestant or a Roman Cath- 
olic, for whichever it was, there would have been great 
dissatisfaction on the part of a large number of her sub- 



1558] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 193 

jects. She put off Philip's ambassador as long as she 
could, until he declared that the queen " was possessed 
with ten thousand devils. " This was her manner of treat- 
ing one suitor after another. She would find endless ex- 
cuses for delay and postponement. This was partly 
policy and partly, it is thought, because the one man 
whom she really wished to marry was Robert Dudley, 
Earl of Leicester, son of that Northumberland who had 
lost his head for trying to make Lady Jane Grey queen, 
and there were several reasons why it would not do to 
marry him. 

The proposed marriages were not the only difficulties 
that must be met. England had no real friends, and 
there were enemies on all sides. She had _ .... 

Condition 

neither well-trained soldiers nor skilful com- of the 
manders. The nobles had little money and the 
crown was poor. To decide these many difficult ques- 
tions, a queen needed the wisest advisers, and here shone 
out Elizabeth's greatest talent ; she did know how to 
choose men. She at once made Sir William Cecil (Lord 
Burleigh) her secretary and chief counsellor, and such he 
remained until his death, a few years before the close of 
the queen's long reign. 

173. Manner of living. In the manner of living 
there was a great contrast between the homes of the 
rich and those of the poor. As soon as men did not 
need to make their houses strong enough to serve as 
forts, they began to make them handsomer and more 
comfortable. There were many beautiful man- Homes of 
sions, with richly embroidered tapestries and tlierlcl1 - 
carved furniture and dishes of gold and of silver; but 
these houses received little care. The floors were 
covered with rushes, and as the old ones were not taken 
up, but new ones were simply laid on top of them, they 



194 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1558 



were decidedly uncleanly according to the ideas of to-day. 
A rich noble usually owned several dwellings, and when 
one had become so dirty that it was unendurable, even to 
a man of sixteenth century notions, he would move to 
another house and let this one " sweeten," as they said. 





COSTUMES OF LADY AND COUNTRYWOMAN, TIME OF ELIZABETH 
Showing ruff and stomacher worn by ladies of rank 

The poor people in the country lived in cottages made 
of sticks and clay. There was no real chimney, but only 
Homes of a no ^ e f° r ^ e sm °ke to go out. Even among 
the poor. the well-to-do, such articles as a feather bed, a 
pair of tongs, a brass dish, or a pair of blankets would be 
handed down by will ; and from this we know that people 
looked upon these things as being of great value. 

The dress of even the rich cannot have been very 

clean, but it was certainly exceedingly gorgeous, for there 

was damask, cloth of silver, cloth of gold, and 

silk and velvet. Money was worth perhaps 

fifteen times as much as now, and when we read of a 



1 546-1561] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 195 

plain, fine woolen gown costing four dollars a yard, it is 
easy to see that these brilliant costumes must have been 
very expensive. The working people wore much poorer 
clothes, rough homespun, and coarse, cheap materials. 

The poor had hard lives. Those who worked on farms 
had to begin early and leave off late. In cities, while 
there were no factories, there were guilds, or 
associations, that made laws for those who 
worked at home. There was a guild for the spinners, 
another for the weavers, another for the gold-beaters, and 
so on. Each workman must belong to his proper guild, 
and must obey its laws in regard to his hours of toil, the 
quality of work that he did, and the price at which he 
sold it. 

174. Mary, Queen of Scots. Both the Tudor queens 
were troubled by their second cousins. Mary had been 
afraid of Lady Jane Grey, and now Elizabeth began to 
feel alarmed because of another cousin, Mary, Queen of 
Scots. When Mary was a little girl five years old, Henry 
VIII. had tried to persuade the Scotch to marry her to 
his nine-year-old son Edward. He even went to war to 
win a bride for his son by force of arms. The Scotch 
were badly beaten, but they still declared that Mary 
should not marry the little English boy ; and just as soon 
as possible they betrothed her to Francis, Dauphin of 
France, and sent her to that country to be brought up as 
a French girl. 

Now while there had been little real danger of 
Queen Mary's being driven from the throne by Lady 
Jane Grey, there was great danger that Mary, Mary's 
Queen of Scots, would become Mary, Queen of ^English 
England. A large party in England had never throne, 
felt that the marriage of Elizabeth's mother was lawful 
or that Elizabeth had any real claim to the throne. If 



196 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[5565-1567 



they were right, Mary of Scotland ought to have been 
queen of England according to the usual rules of succes- 
sion ; though according to the will of Henry VIII. the 
next heir was a younger sister of Lady Jane Grey. 

Elizabeth had declared 
herself a Protestant, 
and Mary was a Roman 
Catholic, so there was a 
strong party in Mary's 
favor. While Mary 
was queen of France, 
Elizabeth was safe, for 
no Englishman wished 
a French queen to 
rule his country, lest 
England should be- 
come only a prov- 
ince of France ; but 
when Mary*s husband 
died and she returned 
to Scotland, matters 
were quite different, 
for there was no objection to having the same queen for 
both Scotland and England. 

After a few years, Mary married a second husband, 
Lord Darnley, an English cousin of hers, who was a 
Mary's Roman Catholic. Elizabeth was more alarmed 
twrdmar- d tnan ever > but she kept up the appearance of 
riages. friendship, and when Mary's son James was 
born, she agreed to act as godmother. Mary was not at 
all happy with Lord Darnley. He was intensely jealous 
of her, and in a short time he murdered her private sec- 
retary, Rizzio, almost in her presence. It was not many 
months before Darnley, too, was murdered. Whether 




MARY STUART 



1567-1568J THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 197 

the charge was true or not, many people believed that 
the crime was committed by the Earl of Bothwell. He 
had j ust obtained a divorce from his wife, and when soon 
after the murder Mary married him, it was hard not to 
think that she had connived at the crime. 

175. Mary loses her throne. The Scotch were 
thoroughly aroused and took up arms. Mary called out 
the royal forces, but they refused to stand by her, and 
she was taken to Edinburgh as a prisoner. Under her 
window was displayed a banner whereon was pictured the 
death of Darnley, and beside his body a child kneeling 
and praying, "Judge and avenge my cause, O Lord." 
She was soon carried to Lochleven Castle, and there she 
signed a paper resigning the throne to her baby son. 
The baby, only one year old, was proclaimed as James 
VI., King of Scotland. 

Whether Elizabeth believed Mary deserving of im- 
prisonment and possible execution or not, her proud 
Tudor blood would not endure such insolence Ellzal)eth 
as the calling of a queen to account by her sub- favors 
jects. The more her counsellors tried to calm 
her, the more she raged, and declared that Mary's crown 
should be restored. Severe penalties against the Roman 
Catholics had been decreed in Scotland, but at Eliza- 
beth's encouragement, Mary's friends took heart and 
planned her escape. 

The only time when the castle was not guarded was 
during the supper hour, and then the great key of the 
gate was laid before the governor of the castle. Mary ' S 
A fearless young page who served the governor esca P e - 
at his meals held a napkin in his hand when setting down 
a dish, and as he took up the napkin, he took also the 
key. Mary was ready. She led by the hand a little 
maid who waited on her, and the three went quietly 



198 ENGLAND'S STORY [1568 

through the gate. "The lad Willie" locked it behind 
them, and they slipped into the little boat of the castle. 
No sound of pursuit was heard from the other side of the 
wall. Mary waved gently a white veil with a deep red 
fringe. No answering signal was made, but hidden on 
the opposite shore were her rejoicing friends. A swift 
horse was waiting to carry her to a strong castle, and in 
three days she was at the head of an army. There was 
a battle, but Mary was defeated. She galloped away at 
full speed, sixty miles the first day, was rowed over the 
Solway, and then she was in England, in the country of 
the powerful queen who had given her so good reason to 
expect support and kindness. 

176. A hard question for England. Never was a 
kingdom in a more difficult position. This was not a 
case in which either jealousy of the next heir to the 
throne or angry sympathy for a deposed queen could hold 
sway. It was a matter whose settlement required the 
keenest acumen of the royal council. If Mary was placed 
on the Scotch throne and supported by England, a war 
with Scotland and probably with France would follow. 
If she was simply returned to Scotland, the result would 
be that she would fall into the hands of the opposing 
party, and would probably be put to death. This exe- 
cution would arouse against Elizabeth the Roman Catho- 
lics of both countries. To keep Mary in England in 
freedom would be to offer her as a centre for whatever 
plot might be formed against Elizabeth ; and it must not 
be forgotten that England was not a Protestant country 
suppressing a handful of Roman Catholics, but rather z 
land in which the numbers supporting each form of faith 
were probably so nearly equal that only the power of 
the crown maintained the Protestant ascendency. The 
fourth course open to England was to keep Mary in an 



1568-1587] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 199 

uncertain position with the attendance of a guest and the 
limitations of a prisoner. This was exactly the inde- 
cisive decision that was so characteristic of Elizabeth ; 
and yet, while it is easy to say that she should have 
defended the royal cousin who had sought her hos- 
pitality, it is hard, indeed, to tell what would have been 
the wisest course to secure the peace and unity of Eng- 
land, which must be the first aim of its queen and its 
councillors. There is proof that Lord Cecil considered 
the question long and thoughtfully. Another matter, 
too, had to be taken into account ; against Mary still 
lay the accusation that she had either plotted for the 
murder of her husband or had at least known of the 
scheme and had been willing that it should be carried 
out. 

But if it is hard to suggest a better plan, it is at least 
easy to see that this one, by keeping a queen as a prisoner 
in a land to which she had fled for protection, added to 
the friends of the deposed sovereign all who sympathized 
with the beautiful, fascinating, imprisoned young woman. 
Plot after plot was formed against Elizabeth. More and 
more watchful became those on whose shoulders rested 
the burden of protecting the quiet of the kingdom. The 
society of the Jesuits sent missionaries to England. 
Whether their aims were religious or revolutionary, the 
country was too angry and too anxious to inquire. They 
were driven from the kingdom, imprisoned, reduced to 
poverty, tortured, executed. Some put the number of 
those that died at thirty-five ; others at two hundred. 1 

177. Execution of Mary. 1587. Every day the 
need of vigilance increased, i'lots were formed not only 
to put the English queen from the throne, but to take 
her life. Letters were produced as the work of Mary's 

1 Larned. 



200 ENGLAND'S STORY [1587 

hand, proving her close connection with the worst of 
these plots. One party firmly believed that the letters 
were hers ; the other said that they had been altered by 
the secretary of Elizabeth. Mary was arrested and tried 
for treason. She declared that she was innocent, but 
the court pronounced her guilty of plotting against the 
life of the queen, and condemned her to death. She 
was executed at Fotheringay Castle in 1587. 

When the deed was once done, Elizabeth was thor- 
oughly frightened, and although she had signed the death- 
Eiizabeth's warrant, she declared that she never meant the 
alarm. execution to take place. She stormed at every 
one that had approved the verdict, imprisoned her secre- 
tary, and inflicted an enormous fine upon him ; and she 
actually wrote James of Scotland that the death of his 
mother was a terrible mistake. 

178. Philip's plans. She had reason to be afraid. 
The powerful Philip of Spain had, of course, favored 
having a Roman Catholic on the English throne, but he 
had not dared to support Mary of Scotland, because to 
make her queen of England would increase the power of 
France in England, and if both these countries were 
against him, he could not hope to maintain his rule in 
Holland. Now that Mary was dead, Philip set about 
his preparations to conquer England for himself, and 
bring the land back to the Roman Catholic church. 

Night and day the Spanish shipbuilders worked. A 
great fleet was made ready at Lisbon, and at Cadiz were 
Theinvin- many other warships, while every day more 
Amada is arms an d provisions were stowed away for the 
built. conquest. The Spanish term for fleet was ar- 

mada, and the Spaniards were so sure that England 
could not resist their attack that they called their squad- 
ron the Invincible Armada. They were soon ready to 



1587] 



THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 



201 



sail, but one English captain obliged them to delay for a 
whole year. 

England was not "Mistress of the Seas" by any 
means, but she had many brave sailors and daring com- 
manders. One of the greatest of these was Sir Drake ln 
Francis Drake, who had sailed around the world. Spaln - 
As soon as Philip's plan was known, Drake set out with 
four ships from the royal navy and twenty-four vessels 
that had been furnished by the Londoners, and sailed 
straight for the harbor of Cadiz. For thirty-six hours he 
fought, and he sank one after another of the mighty war- 
ships, high at prow and stern, loaded with heavy arma- 
ment, unwieldy and 
clumsy. The English 
boats were small, and 
the English sailors had 
always been a little 
afraid of these great 
floating castles ; but 
now Drake had found 
out how to meet 
them. The Spaniards 
set to work to repair 
damages, and to make 
ready to attack Eng- 
land a year later, while 
Drake sent word back 
to England that he had 
"singed the Spanish 
king's beard." Then 

he sailed away to the Azores. Good fortune was with 
him, for he fell in with a richer prize than had ever been 
captured by England before, — a Portuguese carack, loaded 
with all sorts of valuable articles from the East Indies. 




SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 



202 ENGLAND'S STORY [1588 

179. England is aroused. Since the times of Wil- 
liam the Conqueror, there had been no maritime attacks 
upon England that had caused her any special alarm, 
and now the whole country was aroused by this new 
danger. The pope had a second time excommunicated 
Elizabeth, and had called upon all true Roman Catholics 
to join Philip in fighting for the faith. Nevertheless, 
Englishmen, both Roman Catholics and Protestants, sup- 
ported the queen, and men whose fathers would have 
burned one another for a difference in creed stood side 
by side to resist the attack of Spain. A Roman Catholic 
named Howard was made admiral of the fleet, and Drake 
was vice-admiral. Frobisher and Hawkins served as cap- 
tains, and Sir Walter Raleigh as a volunteer. Rank and 
family went for nothing. Every man was ready to haul 
a rope or fire a gun. The honor lay not in commanding 
a vessel, but in doing one's best for England. 

The royal navy consisted of only thirty warships, not 
one of them so large as the smallest of the Spanish fleet. 
The English The government asked London for fifteen boats, 
navy - and the answer came, " We entreat you to ac- 

cept from us thirty." Every little seashore village sent 
out its ships. Men of all ranks and from all over the 
land hurried to join the forces that were gathering to- 
gether near London. Every man that owned a sailing 
vessel offered its services and his own to help defend his 
country ; and piratical attacks were so common in those 
days that few captains of merchant vessels had not had 
some experience in resisting an enemy. 

180. The fight with the Armada. The summer of 
1588 came, and the Spanish vessels set sail. Not a doubt 
of success was in the minds of the Spaniards. Men, 
food, and ammunition were plenty, and they had the 
greatest fleet that the world had ever seen. They had 



1 5 88] 



THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 



203 



four or five times as many ships of war as the Eng- 
lish. They were so sure of victory that they made not 
the least effort to conceal their plans. Slowly came the 
Armada up the coast into the English Channel. As soon 
as they were in sight, signal fires were lighted on the 
hills, and the queer little English fleet went out from 
Plymouth harbor to meet the foe. The Spanish fleet 
formed in a wide crescent, seven miles across. The 




SPANISH ARMADA ATTACKED BY THE ENGLISH FLEET 



English vessels were not strong enough to come to a 
regular fight, but they were so light and quick, and the 
Spanish were so slow and heavy, that the encounter 
seemed, as was said, like one between a swarm of wasps 
and a bear. 

Now came in play the lesson that Drake had learned 
in the harbor of Cadiz one year before. An English 
boat would slip up under the very guns of a Spanish gal- 
leon, fire a shot or two and flee ; and before the Spanish 
guns could be trained upon her, she would be far away, 
firing at another warship. It is said that some of the 
English vessels went the whole length of the crescent, 



204 ENGLAND'S STORY [1588 

firing at ship after ship. The Spanish withdrew toward 
Calais. 

Then there came a Sunday when every soldier in the 
English army waiting before London prayed from the 
bottom of his heart in the words that the queen 
had sent, " Prosper the work, O Lord, and 
speed the victory." Soon after midnight a few small 
vessels left the English fleet and were slowly towed in 
the direction of the Spanish ships. There were no men 
on board. What could it mean ? The tow-boats with- 
drew, and the vessels drifted on with the tide, even into 
the very midst of the Armada. Was there danger ? 
What could the Spaniards do ? There was no reason 
for firing at an empty boat, and they waited — not long, 
however, for there was a sudden blaze from one boat, 
another, and another. There was a din of explosions. 
Strange, suffocating vapors filled the air. Still the mys- 
terious vessels drifted on, and wherever they went there 
was fire and ruin. How could one fight an empty boat 
that seemed to be guided by invisible fiends ? Many Span* 
ish ships were burned, sunk by collisions, run aground, or 
entangled in one another's anchor cables. 

They could not turn back, for the saucy little English 
boats were between them and Spain, firing at least four 
Return of times as fast as the Spaniards could fire. The 
the Armada. ver y wmc } s were against them. Their only hope 
of returning to their own land was by going around Scot- 
land and Ireland. Terrible storms arose, and only half 
of the Invincible Armada ever sailed into a Spanish port. 

England now ruled the seas. She could send her 
ships where she chose and trade wherever she wished. 
No fear was there now of becoming a province of Spain. 
Before Elizabeth's time there had been great victories 
and great men. Under Elizabeth, England itself became 
great. 



1589-1603] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 205 

181. A wonderful literature. More glorious than 
victories on land or sea was the wonderful literature that 
had been growing up in England. It seems as if every 
event that had come before this latter part of the sixteenth 
century had had a share in preparing the way for the 
outburst of literary ability that made the reign of Eliza- 
beth so memorable. The Saxons loved the land and 
their own settled homes. Then came the Danes with 
their fearlessness on the sea and their wild enjoyment of 
storms and of danger. When a poet wrote of love of 
home, he expressed the feelings of his Saxon ancestors ; 
and when he wrote of the perils of the wave and mnuence of 
the wreck, and his love of the sea with all its the * ast - 
hazards, he was for the time one of the bold mariners 
who seized upon England for their abode. By and by 
came the Conqueror, and by 1400 the grace and beauty 
and refinement of the French language had softened the 
rough strength of the early English. 

Men thought for themselves more and more on all 
subjects, and this strength of thought showed in their 
writings. The nation became united, and the idea of 
one strong country was an inspiration. To Elizabeth 
herself there was on the part of thousands a devotion 
that was almost idolatry. The victory over influenced 
the Armada gave the English nation a mag- tnepres< 
nificent sense of confidence. A great widening of 
ideas came with the discovery and exploration of 
the New World. Raleigh had sailed to Virginia; 
Frobisher had visited Labrador and Greenland in his 
search for a northwest passage to India. Every one was 
eager to make a voyage, and it is no wonder, for there 
were marvellous stories of a fountain in Florida whose 
waters would make an old man young again, of silver 
mines whose richness was without parallel, and of rivers 



206 ENGLAND'S STORY [1589-1603 

whose waters rolled over precious stones. No one knew 
what miracle might come next. The English were eager 
and excited, and their imagination was roused to the 
highest pitch. In most ages only a few men write well, 
but in those days many wrote so excellently that Eliza- 
beth's time is called the " Golden Age " of English liter- 
ature. 

There were many short poems and many plays. The 
short poems written before Elizabeth's reign are heavy 
and rather gloomy, and they sound as if they were hard 
short t0 write. The religious poems had not been 

poems. frank and natural, because in the sudden changes 
of the national creed, people had been afraid to tell what 
they really believed, lest it should be called heresy ; but 
nearly all the poems written in Elizabeth's time 
are light and merry and musical. Among them 
are many songs, for the English, even from the earliest 
days, had liked to listen to music, and at this time every- 
body sang. A servant who could sing well had no trouble 
in getting a good position. Moreover, people would not 
sing nonsense ; they would have real poetry for their 
songs. 

One of the most famous poems of the day was a long 
one named " The Faerie Queene," by Edmund Spenser. 
He is sometimes called "the poets' poet," because his 
verse is so harmonious that it sounds musical even to 
one who does not understand the words. The poem is 
a sort of double allegory, for the heroine represents not 
only goodness and beauty, but also Queen Elizabeth. 

Even better than the short poems were the plays. The 

old mystery plays went on far into Elizabeth's reign, 

though they were no longer acted by priests, 

but by guilds, or companies of tradesmen. 

There were no books that were at all like the novels of 



1589-1603] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 



207 



our time. It may be that life moved so rapidly with its 
discoveries and its victories, and that Englishmen were 
so eager and so enthusiastic that they could not be satis- 
fied to listen to a story; they must see it acted out before 
them. People of rank and wealth and those of the hum- 
blest fortunes enjoyed alike the plays for which the mys- 
teries had helped prepare the way. As the age went 
on, the characters of the plays became more and more 
like real men and women. 
There were also changes 
in the manner of writing. 
Before this, most authors 
had felt that the lines of 
a play must rhyme, but 
Marlowe ridiculed the cus- 
tom and wrote his plays in 
the unrhymed verse that 
Shakespeare uses. A little 
later, Ben Jon son wrote not 
only many plays, but also 
a kind of drama called 
a masque. The masques 
had hardly any plot, but 
audiences enjoyed them because they were beautiful and 
poetical, and because they had elaborate scenery, while 
the regular plays had scarcely any. Many authors wrote 
plays and exceedingly good ones, but the greatest of all 
these writers was Shakespeare, partly because Shake _ 
he could use words so skilfully that no one speare - 
seems able to improve upon his way of expressing a 
thought, but chiefly because he knew better than any 
one else just how different persons would feel and act 
under different circumstances. One maker of plays was 
aimost as good as he in one respect, and another in 




WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE 



208 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[i 589-1603 

some other respect, but Shakespeare was greatest in all 
respects. 

182. Character of Elizabeth. What kind of woman 
was Elizabeth, in whose reign these wonderful things 
came to pass ? She was well educated, witty, fond of 
handsome clothes and gorgeous pageants of all sorts. 
She thoroughly enjoyed travelling about the country in 




THE GLOBE, SHAKESPEARE'S THEATRE 



state, going from one nobleman's house to another and 
seeing all the amusing entertainments that could be de- 
vised. She had great faults. She was so vain that no 
one could praise her as much as she thought she deserved. 
She had a hot temper, and when she was angry she 
would beat her maids of honor and box the ears of her 
courtiers. Even worse than that, her word could not be 
trusted. She would tell a lie if it answered her purpose, and 
when it was found out she always had another one ready 



1603] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 209 

She seems to have had no religious principle, and to 
have sided with the Protestants purely as a matter of 
policy. Roman Catholic missionaries, especially the Jes- 
uits, were hard at work in England. Some may have 
been trying to overthrow the government, but there were 
many others who had only religious motives. All who 
were captured, however, were treated alike as enemies 
of the country and of its queen. They were tortured in 
the attempt to make them confess their object and re- 
veal the names of their friends, and they were put to 
death with most barbarous cruelty. 

Elizabeth, however, really loved her country, and she 
meant sincerely to do her best for England. She chose 
wise men for her advisers, and though she would often 
storm at them when their counsel did not suit her, yet 
she always followed it in the end. She was a Tudor 
and meant to have her own way, but she invariably 
yielded when she saw that she was going against the 
wishes of the nation ; and she yielded so graciously that 
people almost thought that all the time she was oppos- 
ing them she had meant to do what they desired. She 
certainly had grave faults, but she had many good quali- 
ties ; and these good qualities were just the ones that 
the nation needed at that time to unite England and to 
make her great in politics, discovery, and literature. 

SUMMARY 

The accession of Elizabeth was welcome to England, but 
the poverty of the crown, the three opposing religious parties 
at home, and the foes of the country abroad, made her posi- 
tion a difficult one. After the conspiracy in behalf of Mary, 
Queen of Scots, had been terminated by her execution, and 
tne attempts of Spain to conquer England had been ended 
by the defeat of the Armada, a sense of freedom filled the 
land. England was " Mistress of the Seas," and she had no 



210 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1558-1603 



longer any fear of becoming a province of another country. 
The discoveries of Drake, Frobisher, Hawkins, and others 
widened the boundaries of the world. "There were many men 
who could fight, many who could govern, many who could 
write, and not a few who seemed able to succeed in one line 
as well as in another. 

There was also an increasing freedom of thought. Though 
11 religious toleration " was an idea of the future, and some 
of the persecutions were most bitter, yet an Englishman was 
far less likely to suffer for his opinions than half a century 
earlier. 

Of greater value than victories on sea or on land was the 
literary ability that was in this reign so widely diffused, and 
that found its highest manifestation in the plays of Shake- 
speare. An important factor in the greatness of England 
was the queen herself, with her intellectual ability, her wis- 
dom in choosing advisers, and her sincere love of the land 
over which she ruled. 



20. Henry VIII. 
1 509- 1 547 



THE TUDORS 

19. Henry VII. 

1485-1509. 



I 

Margaret, m. 

James Stuart, King of 

Scotland. 



II II 

22. Mary. 23. Elizabeth. 21. Edward VI. James 
^553-1558. 1 558-1603. J547-I553 



Mary, Queen of Scots. 



24. James I. (Stuart.) 
1603-1625. 



Mary, m. Charles 
Brandon. 



Frances, m. 
Henry Grey. 

Lady Jane Grey, m 
Lord Dudley. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE HOUSE OF STUART 
1603-17 14 

24. James I. 1603- 162 5 

183. James I. The heir to Elizabeth's throne was 
James, son of Mary, Queen of Scots, the child to whom 
she had resigned her kingdom when she was a prisoner 
at Lochleven Castle. He was now nearly forty years 
of age, and from his looks and manner no one would 
have guessed that he was the son of Queen Mary. She 
was graceful and beautiful, and she had so much tact that 
almost every one who met her liked her and was ready 
to do whatever she asked. James was awkward and 
clumsy, and made himself even more clumsy than he 
was by nature, because he was so afraid of being assassi- 
nated that he had his clothes heavily padded and quilted. 
He rolled from side to side when he walked. His tongue 
was too big for his mouth. He was coarse in his ways, 
and with all his delight in gorgeousness he took no plea- 
sure in neatness and cleanliness. 

He had been brought up very strictly by the Scotch 
Presbyterians, who were far more rigid in their ideas than 
the Puritans. The Presbyterians believed, for Jame s's 
instance, that it was very wrong for a clergyman earl * llfe - 
to wear a white surplice when he preached, and they felt 
sure that a church governed by presbyters must be far 
better than one governed by bishops. James had been 
taught, but not educated ; that is, he had been made to 



212 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1603 



read and study so much that he knew many facts ; but 

it would have been 
better if he had 
known only half 
as many and had 
reasoned and 
thought about 
them. He was so 
sure that he was a 
learned man that 
he was too con- 
ceited to be taught 
anything, and he 
never found out that 
knowledge is of no 
value unless one 
has also learned how 
to use it well. The 
brilliant French 
" the wisest fool in 




JAMES I. 



minister, Sully, said that James was 
Europe." 

184. Scotch rejoicings. This was the man who now 
sat on the throne of England. He was the sixth king 
by the name of James who had ruled in Scotland, but 
the first of the name who had ruled in England, so in 
English history he is always spoken of as James I. The 
English were not especially eager to have him for king, 
but the Scotch were rejoiced, for they had never forgot- 
ten the Stone of Scone that Edward I. had carried to 
England three hundred years before ; and when James 
sat on that stone in the coronation chair in Westminster 
Abbey, the Scotch felt that at last the prophecy had 
been fulfilled that wherever the stone rested a Scotch* 
man should rule. 



1603-1607] THE HOUSE OF STUART 213 

185. Which church ? The first question in the 
minds of James's new subjects was, which church he 
would favor. The Roman Catholics hoped that out of 
regard for his mother's belief, he would make life in Eng- 
land easier for them, and the Puritans hoped that as he 
had been brought up among Presbyterians, he would 
have a feeling of fellowship with them. One thousand 
Puritan ministers at once presented him with a mam- 
moth petition asking that they might be allowed to 
preach without a surplice, to marry couples without using 
a ring, and to baptize children without making the sign 
of the cross. 

James called several of these Puritan ministers to meet 
an assembly of bishops to discuss the matter in his pres- 
ence. Just as soon as he saw that some of the Puritans 
as well as the Scotch Presbyterians wished to have no 
bishops, he shouted, " No bishops, no king," and «n bishops, 
not an inch would he move from that position, nokin g-" 
for he believed that if they thought a church might be 
governed without bishops, they would next think a king- 
dom might be governed without a king ; and he declared 
that both Puritans and Roman Catholics should conform 
to the Church of England, or he would " harry them out 
of the land, or else do worse." 

Naturally, the English bishops and most of the lords 
stood firmly by the king, and one of the lords who was 
at the conference said he was "fully persuaded that his 
majesty spoke by the instinct of the Spirit of God." 
At this meeting no one really ventured to speak with 
perfect freedom except the king, and he was so delighted 
to have so fine an opportunity to display his knowledge 
that he forgot he was acting as a judge who should 
listen and not argue, and he himself monopolized the 
speech-making. He quoted Latin and he quoted Greek, 



214 ENGLAND'S STORY [1605-1611 

and he closed the conference with the satisfied conviction 

.- , ^ that if the Puritans were not converted from 
1611. The 

Bible their mistaken ways, they ought to be. The 

translated. one g 00 & t k at came from this convention was a 

new translation of the Bible. This was completed in 
161 1, and is the one now in common use. 

186. The Gunpowder Plot. People were no longer 
burned for heresy, but both Roman Catholics and Puri- 
tans were heavily fined and imprisoned and even tor- 
tured, and treated in all ways with the greatest unfair- 
ness and severity. In a kingdom in which every man 
belonged to one of three religious parties, a king who 
was so unjust to two of those parties must expect that 
in one or the other there would be men that would con- 
spire against him. This was soon the case in England. 
The Puritans could become members of Parliament, and 
could sometimes find redress of their grievances in legal 
measures ; but the oath that every member of Parliament 
must take was one that no Roman Catholic could hon- 
estly repeat, therefore it was naturally among the Roman 
Catholics that the most notorious plot was formed. 

This plot was a scheme to blow up the Parliament 
House with gunpowder. A cellar under the building 
was rented, and great quantities of powder were stored 
there, hidden under wood and coal. It was arranged 
that on the day of the opening of Parliament one man 
should slip into the cellar and light the pile. The con- 
spirators hoped that king, nobles, and bishops would be 
destroyed in a moment. They had a long time to wait, 
since, on one ground or another, the opening of Parliament 
was put off for a year. That so terrible a secret could be 
kept by a group of men so long a time showed to what 
desperation they had been driven. At last, however, the 
trme came ; the day was set on which Parliament should 



»«°5] 



THE HOUSE OF STUART 



21$ 



convene. The hopes of the conspirators rose higher, 
for they believed that soon their enemies would be de- 
stroyed. 

At the last moment, the heart of one of the conspira- 
tors failed him. Hundreds of women throughout Eng- 




THE GUNPOWDER CONSPIRATORS 



land might lose husband or father or brother, but his 
sister's husband must be saved. He sent a note A note oi 
of warning. Some say that it was read aloud warnln s- 
by mistake and straightway reported to the council ; 
others say that he repented of the fearful scheme and 
thought that this sending of an anonymous letter would 
be the best way to reveal the plan and to prevent the 
slaughter. 

In the letter of warning was an expression suggesting 
that the danger would be sudden. It is said that King 
James himself was the one who interpreted this as mean- 
ing that gunpowder would be used. The councillors 



216 ENGLAND'S STORY [1605 

were even closer guardians of the secret than the con- 
spirators had been. Arrangements went on for the 
opening of Parliament. Just before midnight of Novem- 
ber fourth, the day before the explosion was to have 
taken place, the lord chamberlain and his attendants 
went to the cellar under the building, and there stood a 
Guy tall man in whose possession were slow matches 

Fawkes. anc [ touchwood. This was Guy Fawkes, who 
was to touch off* the powder. He refused to reveal the 
names of his associates, but after terrible tortures in the 
Tower, he yielded. 

This plot was known to only a few men, but in the 
minds of the public the blame was thrown upon all that 
were Roman Catholics, and the laws against them became 
more rigorous than ever. The fifth of November, 1605, 
was the day appointed for the explosion. It is still called 
" Guy Fawkes' s Day," and the old rhymes are not yet 
forgotten : — 

" Don't you remember 
The fifth of November, 
The gunpowder treason and plot? 
I see no reason 
Why gunpowder treason 
Should ever be forgot." 

The day was celebrated in America until Revolutionary 
times. 

187. "Divine right of kings." During his whole 
reign James's favorite idea was the "divine right of 
kings." He believed that no matter how bad a man was, 
God had appointed him to rule, if he was only the oldest 
son of the preceding sovereign, and no Christian could 
rightfully oppose him in anything that he chose to do. 
In earlier days the English people had made the man 
king who seemed best able to rule. Then they began 



1605-1611] THE HOUSE OF STUART 



217 




to prefer that the same family should continue in power, 

but they chose among the members of that family the 

one that seemed to be worthiest of 

the throne. Gradually they had come 

to feel that it was wiser to choose 

the oldest son or his descendants ; 

but to be told that this oldest son 

was invariably the one chosen of God 

to rule them, and that the nation had 

nothing to do with the matter but to 

accept and obey whatever laws he 

wished to make, was quite a new idea 

to them. 

James paid no attention to the 
rights of his subjects. If he was 
not pleased with the men who were 
elected members of Parliament, he 
refused to allow them to serve. If the records of Parlia 
ment did not suit him, he calmly tore the 
pages out of the book. When his ministers exercise 
begged him to give his attention to some im- "divine 
portant public matters, he said that the most rl s ht " 
important matter in the kingdom was for him to have 
the exercise and recreation that his health required ; and 
while papers that affected the welfare of millions of his 
subjects lay waiting for his signature, he went hunting 
and hawking, and spent his days in the most disgusting 
of drunken orgies. Some great writers of plays lived in 
the reign of James, and whenever they described the 
court, they pictured most coarse and vulgar scenes. 

188. James's efforts to obtain money. James had 
favorites, who, like those of Edward II., were idle, worth- 
less men. His gifts to them were unlimited. He seemed 
to have no idea that a king had any responsibility in 



ANNE OF DENMARK, 
WIFE OF JAMES I. 

Showing the " Wheel Far* 
thingale " then worn 



218 ENGLAND'S STORY [1611 

spending the money that the taxation of his subjects had 
put into his hands. His treasurer once gave him a 
James's lesson. He showed him a great heap of coin 
tavorites. lying on the floor, and when the king asked, 
"Whose is this?" he replied, "It was your majesty's 
before you gave it away." This money, twenty thousand 
pounds, had been promised to one of these unworthy 
favorites, but now that the king realized how much it 
was, he declared that the favorite should never have it. 
Immense amounts were squandered upon these worthless 
men, and upon James's drunken revels and disgraceful 
amusements and entertainments. How to get money 
was always the question. Parliament was never willing 
to give without at least a promise that the king would 
not infringe upon its rights. James demanded the pay- 
ment of a tax on goods that were exported and imported. 
He called for another tax when his oldest son was 
Title of knighted ; he introduced a new title, that of 
baronet. baronet, and gave it to almost any one that 
would pay for it. He would have been glad to revive 
the old scheme of demanding benevolences, but when he 
invited London to make him a present, that city refused. 
The king was angry and vowed that he would punish the 
Londoners by removing his court to some more loyal 
place. It is said that the lord mayor replied : — 

"Your majesty hath power to do what you please, 
and your City of London will obey accordingly, but she 
humbly desires that when your majesty shall remove 
your courts, you would please to leave the Thames be- 
hind you." 

Finally, a great scheme was proposed. This was to 

marry the king's son Charles to the Spanish 

isn mar- princess. She would have a large dowry, and 

rlage ' the royal coffers would again be filled so that 



i6i8] 



THE HOUSE OF STUART 



219 



the king could begin another course of his degrading 
amusementSo The English people were indignant enough 
when they saw his increasing familiarity with the Span- 
ish minister, and a little later they had even more reason 
for their wrath. In the Tower a remarkable Execution 
man, named Walter Raleigh, had been kept a °* Ralel ga- 
prisoner for twelve years under sentence of death on a 
false charge of con- 
spiracy against the 
king. He was a sol- 
dier, an explorer, a 
courtier, a student, a 
poet ; indeed, there 
seemed to be nothing 
that this man of many 
talents could not do 
and do well. Before 
his imprisonment he 
had made voyages to 
the New World, and 
had even tried to plant 
a colony. He felt 
sure that if he were 

allowed to take a fleet to America, he could find a certain 
rich gold mine. This was a temptation to James, and he 
sent Raleigh, but with strict orders not to interfere with 
the Spaniards who were settled on the South American 
coast. Then James in his folly told the Spanish minister 
all about the scheme, and, of course, when Raleigh landed 
in America, the Spaniards were awaiting him, and there 
was trouble at once. Spain already hated him because 
he was one of those who defeated the Armada, and to 
please Spain and secure the princess with her dowry, 
Raleigh was executed on the old charge of conspiracy. 




SIR WALTER RALEIGH 



220 ENGLAND'S STORY [1607-1620 

The wrath of the nation was aroused, and became even 
more furious when James's son Charles — " Baby Charles," 
no alliance tne father called him — set off to visit Spain, 
with Spain. Whether the Spanish were never in earnest 
about this marriage and were only deceiving James in 
order to keep him under their control, or whether Charles 
was better pleased with the French princess whom he 
met on the way, is perhaps not fully known. At any 
rate, the Spanish marriage was given up, and the country 
rejoiced. 

189. Merchants go to America. In James's reign 
there were two classes of men who had thought with 
especial longing of the wonderful country across the At- 
lantic. The first, a company of merchants and specula- 
tors, remembered the stories that had been told of vast 
quantities of gold and silver that lay hidden in the un- 
explored lands. They formed a colony to go to Vir- 
ginia, a territory which had been so named by Raleigh 
in memory of his having discovered it during the reign 

of a virgin queen. They left England in 1607. 
town. and founded on the James River the first per- 

1607 

manent English settlement in America. It was 
to be a somewhat aristocratic place. It was named James- 
town in honor of the king, and he was to control its laws. 
Almost all the colonists were men who had no idea how 
to do anything with their hands. These were hardly the 
kind of people to become settlers in a new country, and 
naturally they had all sorts of troubles. Fortunately for 
them, Captain John Smith was among them, a man who 
seemed to know just what to do in every difficulty, and 
the colony finally became flourishing and wealthy. 

190. Pilgrims go to America. The Puritans had 
been persecuted and tormented and imprisoned. They 
were even forbidden to meet quietly in one another's 



Ifco] THE HOUSE OF STUART 221 

houses for prayer and preaching. They wished to purify 
the Church of England and not to leave it, but there were 
many who, while agreeing with the Puritans in religious 
belief, wished to be entirely free from the Church of 
England. These men were called Independents, or Sepa- 

TJitlStS 

Early in the reign of James some of these Independ- 
ents had asked his leave to go to America, but the king 
would not give permission. They knew that in ^^ 
Holland men were free to worship God in any g^ 
way that they thought right, so they contrived 
to escape to Holland, and there they remained for twelve 
years; but they were English at heart and they wished 
to live under the English government, badly as it had 
treated them. After many attempts, these harassed 
people at last secured a grudging permission to go to 
the land under English control across the seas. There 
they could bring up their children as they thought right, 
and worship God in the way that they believed would be 
pleasing to Him. So it was that in 1620 the brave little 
company of "Pilgrim Fathers" set sail in the pgjouth. 
Mayflower, and after many weeks of discomfort 
and danger landed on the New England coast and 
founded a settlement which they named Plymouth. 

191. James's character. If James had done just one 
noble deed before his death, it would have gone far to- 
wards making people think kindly of him, but to the very 
end of his life he went on in his career of gluttony, 
drunkenness, and folly. The discord which his deeds had 
aroused between king and people was a sad inheritance 
for his son Charles, and one could almost have prophe- 
sied the troubles of the next reign. 



222 ENGLAND'S STORY [1625-1649 

SUMMARY 

James's accession delighted Scotland. Roman Catholics 
and Puritans hoped for his favor, but his support was given 
to the Church of England. Puritan clergymen appealed for 
freedom in church ceremonies, but the only good result of 
the royal conference was a new translation of the Bible. 

The discovery of the "Gunpowder Plot" prevented the 
destruction of the king and of both Houses of Parliament. 

James imposed as many taxes as he dared, and to fill his 
coffers attempted to marry his son to the Spanish princess. 
Raleigh was sacrificed to Spanish hatred. Merchants and 
Pilgrims went to America. 

James's favorite idea was the " divine right of kings," but 
his weakness and folly lessened the personal devotion that 
the nation had shown to the Tudors. As the king's power 
diminished, the strength of Parliament increased. 

25. Charles I. 1625-1649 

192. Charles I. and the "divine right." For the 
quiet and peace of England there could hardly have been 
a worse king than Charles I. In some way he had per- 
suaded himself that while it would be wrong to tell a 
falsehood to a member of his family or to one of his 
friends, it was perfectly right to deceive his subjects in 
any way that suited his convenience. He believed in the 
"divine right of kings" even more firmly than did his 
father, and he was convinced that if the people did not 
recognize his " divine right " to do as he wished, it was 
simply because they were wilful and obstinate, and he 
was more " divinely commissioned " than ever to make 
them obedient by deceit or any other means. 

193. Charles's deceitfulness. He had shown this 
belief even before he became king, at the time when 
he wished to marry the French princess whom he had 



i62s] 



THE HOUSE OF STUART 



223 



seen on his way to Spain. The Protestants in England 
had increased in power and in numbers, and they were 
unwilling that a Roman Catholic should become their 
queen, lest more favor should be given to her church. 
To satisfy them, both Charles and his father had pro- 
mised Parliament that 
no such favor should 
be shown. On the 
other hand, the French 
princess would not 
come to England un- 
less she could be as- 
sured that she might 
bring with her a nu- 
merous train of Roman 
Catholic priests and 
ladies and attendants. 
This would violate the 
agreement with Parlia- 
ment, but both Charles 
and his father made charles 1. 

this promise too, and 

Charles married the French princess. The English peo- 
ple saw at once that he had deceived them, but they 
were so glad to be sure that he would not marry the 
princess of Spain that they were ready to overlook even 
such treachery as this. Charles had no power French 
to keep the promises of favor to the Roman JJSoUcs 
Catholics which he had made to obtain his wife, expelled, 
and his attempts to do so only aroused the English Pro- 
testants, while his failure called forth the wrath of France. 
To crown it all, he finally gave orders that his wife's 
priests and attendants should be driven out of the land 
He wrote to his minister : — 




224 ENGLAND'S STORY [1625 

" I command you to send all the French away to- 
morrow out of the town. If you can, by fair means (but 
stick not long in disputing) ; otherwise force them away, 
driving them away like so many wild beasts." 

If it had not been for his deceitfulness, the nation 
might well have been proud of their king. In appear- 
ance and manner he was an ideal monarch, dignified, 
handsome, and courteous. He was a scholarly man and 
had some intellectual ability. He seemed to have inher- 
ited all the good traits of his grandmother, Mary, Queen 
of Scots, and had it not been for his one unpardonable 
fault, the English nation would have refused him nothing. 

It was because of his unwillingness to be frank and 
honest with his people that he was in trouble from the 
very beginning of his reign. When his first Parliament 
met, he called for a large amount of money to carry out 
some vague schemes of his for making war upon Spain 
and capturing some Spanish treasure-ships. He wished 
Parliament to provide the money without a question ; but 
as he seemed to have no definite plans for the war, and 
his only idea of finding a treasure-ship was to sail about 
the ocean till he chanced to come across one, Parliament 
refused ; and refused also to give him any promise of in- 
come from "tonnage," a tax on shipping, and 

Tonnage ° 

and "poundage, a tax on merchandise, tor more 

poundage. ^^ Qne ^ ear p Qr ^ j ast twQ centur j es j t h ac [ 

been the custom to grant the income from these taxes 
to each succeeding king for life, and now Charles was 
angry. He refused to accept the grant if made for only 
one year, but nevertheless he proceeded to collect the 
duties, and went to war with Spain on his own responsi- 
bility. If he had been successful, the attempt might 
have won popularity, but the whole affair was so badly 
managed that the people were more indignant than ever. 



I 625- i 626] 



THE HOUSE OF STUART 



225 



194. Illegal taxes. Money was needed, and there- 
fore Charles had to summon Parliament again. Parlia- 
ment would not give him money unless he would show 
clearly that he wished it for some purpose of which the 
country would approve ; and Charles was indignant that 
mere subjects should dare to do such a thing as to ques- 
tion what he meant to do with the money. As he could 





SOLDIERS, TIME OF CHARLES 1, 
Musketeer and Pikeman 



get no funds by lawful means, the only thing was to get 
them in any way that he could ; and again a foolish king 
tried to collect what were really almost the same as be- 
nevolences, although the amount demanded was in some 
proportion to each man's income. This tax was not legal, 
because it had not been voted by Parliament, and a few 
brave men refused to pay it ; but, nevertheless, a large 
sum of money was collected, for not many dared to risk 
the anger of the king. 

France and Spain had united their forces against Eng- 



226 ENGLAND'S STORY [1626-1628 

land, and Charles could get no money to resist their 
attacks unless he appealed to Parliament ; so there was 
Parliament nothing to do but to call for another session, 
is called. The king . was angry and scornful ; Parliament 
was indignant at his treatment of his subjects, and 
alarmed at what might be the result if this arbitrary 
sovereign was allowed to go on in his course. Charles 
had no intention of keeping the laws, and as the courts 
of justice were under his control, they would uphold 
whatever he chose to do. Parliament decided that vot- 
ing money for war was not the most important matter 
on hand ; affairs at home must first be attended to. 

195. The " Petition of Rights." When a king did 
not do what his subjects thought just, the proper way 
to tell him so was to present a petition. In King John's 
time it was the nobles alone who had stood firm to right 
the grievances of the kingdom, but now nobles and com- 
mons were much in sympathy. A paper, called a " Peti- 
tion of Rights," was sent to the king, and he was made to 
understand that no supplies would be voted until he had 
signed it. All that the petition asked was that he 
should keep the laws of the land ; and the main points 
named were that no one should be imprisoned unlaw- 
fully, and that no taxes or benevolences should be de- 
manded without the consent of Parliament. There would 
seem to be no reason why an honorable king should have 
hesitated a moment before signing this, and the king 
did agree to it, but instead of writing the usual form of 
words, " Let right be done as is desired," he wrote a 
form so roundabout that Parliament suspected that he 
would soon find a loophole and not keep his word after 
all. The members of Parliament were so wretched and 
discouraged that more than one broke down utterly and 
burst into tears. The king was to meet them the next 



1628-1629] THE HOUSE OF STUART 227 

morning. What would he say ? Was there any hope 
of peace ? 

In the morning the king came before the House, and, 
much to their surprise, he tore away what he had written, 
and signed his name to the usual formula, " Let right be 
done as is desired." The members of Parliament were 
so rejoiced that they straightway voted all the supplies 
that the king had asked. Then they began to discuss 
the matters that had been mentioned in their petition 
and to plan how to reform the abuses, but here Charles 
interfered and closed the session. 

196. Parliament's protest. The next year Parlia- 
ment met again. There was great excitement, for sign- 
ing the " Petition of Rights " had had no effect upon the 
actions of the king. Another trouble had arisen, for 
Laud, Archbishop of London, had introduced into the 
church service many ceremonies that were so much like 
those of the Roman Catholics that Parliament feared a 
return to the Romish doctrine. The Speaker of the 
House knew that a protest was coming, and he attempted 
to adjourn the assembly, saying that he did so by the 
king's orders. King or no king, Parliament was resolved 
that the protest should be heard; and so, while two 
members held the Speaker down in his chair and another 
locked the outer door, a declaration was read that who- 
ever favored the teachings of Rome, and whoever paid 
voluntarily any tax not voted by Parliament, was an enemy 
to his country. 

During the reading of the protest, the king had sent 
for one of the officers, but the man was not allowed to 
leave the room. The king sent a message, but the 
House refused to admit the messenger. Then the king 
" grew into much rage and passion " and sent the royal 
guard to break in the door ; but now that the protest had 



228 ENGLAND'S STORY [1629-1640 

been read and every member of the House had heard 
it, the doors were thrown open and Parliament quietly 
adjourned. 

197. Eleven years without Parliament. The king 
took off his royal robes and said that never again would 
he put them on to enter the House, for he would rule 
without any Parliament ; and this he did for eleven long 
years. He and his ministers invented all kinds of ways 
to fill the royal treasury. One way was by granting 
"monopolies," an old abuse of the preceding century; for 
instance, one man would receive from the king permis- 
sion to make soap, and all other men would be forbidden 
to carry on the business. Of course, this man could well 
afford to pay a high price for such permission, and the 
star Cham- money went into the king's treasury. The 
ber revived. Star Chamber of Henry VII. 's day was revived, 
and any one that ventured to object to a royal tax was 
by this tribunal condemned to pay a much larger one ; 
and if he refused, his goods were taken from him. This 
court was in the hands of Earl Strafford, a noble who was 
devoted to the cause of the king. He had a plan which 
he named " Thorough," and its aim was to make the 
king absolutely independent. Whatever Charles chose 
to demand was to be granted, even if it was against the 
laws of the country and the will of Parliament. 

Another kind of tribunal was known as the Court of 
High Commission. Archbishop Laud presided over this, 
The court and here those that did not believe it right to 
commis- worship in the form prescribed by the Church 
sion. of England were fined. This court had existed 

in Elizabeth's day, but had never been such an instru- 
ment of tyranny as it now became. Men who were 
brought up before either of these courts had no trial and 
no way of defending themselves. They must pay what- 
ever fine was demanded or be sent to prison. 



1630-1637] THE HOUSE OF STUART 229 

Of course the Puritans suffered terribly from such a 

government as this. They were fined, and imprisoned, 

and whipped, and branded with red-hot irons. „ 

rr Persecution 

It is no wonder that they thought more and of the Puri- 
more of going to the New World, where they ans " 
would be far away from the tyranny of such a king and 
such ministers. John Winthrop published a long list of 
reasons why Puritans should no longer remain in such a 
land, where their children were "perverted, corrupted, 
and utterly overthrown by the multitude of evil ex- 
amples," and in 1630 a company of these Puritans, with 
Winthrop for their leader, sailed for America Boston 
and founded Boston. Two strong, resolute Iounded - 
men — if we may trust the old story — wished to sail 
with them, and were on board the vessel when it was in 
the Thames, but the king forbade their going. A few 
years later he must have been sorry that he had de- 
tained them, for these men were John Hampden and 
Oliver Cromwell. 

Still the king had not money enough, for he and Straf- 
ford had decided that the only way to maintain absolute 
power was to establish a royal army. But Shlp . 
whence should they get the money to pay the mone y- 
soldiers ? There was another old law, or custom, that 
they thought they could revive. In earlier times the 
sovereign had been allowed to call upon the seaports 
to contribute ships or money when there was danger 
of invasion by sea. "What one king has done, another 
king may do," said Charles and his advisers, and he 
demanded "ship-money " from the whole kingdom. 

The land was not at war, and there was no danger of 
any invasion. People were sure that the king 
would use whatever money he obtained in Hampden's 
this way to establish an army. It needed a ump ' 



230 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1637 




bold man to refuse to pay, but there were some who 

did refuse, and 
among them was 
this brave Johr 
Hampden who 
had wished to go 
to America. The 
twenty shillings 
demanded of him 
he would not pay. 
After months 
of deliberation, 
seven judges out 
of twelve decided 
against him ; but 
all these judges 
were servants of 
the king, and the 
fact that five of 
them favored Hampden encouraged men throughout the 
kingdom to refuse to pay the unjust tax. 

198. Trouble in Scotland. Charles had put the coun- 
try into a turmoil, but he had gained no wisdom from 
his troubles. Instead of trying to make matters better 
in England, he turned his attention to Scotland — and 
wherever he turned his attention, there were sure to be 
difficulties. He chose this time of all times to try to 
compel the Scotch Presbyterians to use the English 
Prayer Book. The Dean of Edinburgh did his best to 
obey the king's orders, but in a moment the church was 
full of angry shouts. He tried again, and an old woman 
named Jane Gaddis, or Geddes, threw at the dean's head 
the little stool on which she had been sitting, and cried, 
" Do you mean to say mass at my ear ? " Then came 



JOHN HAMPDEN 



1640-1641] THE HOUSE OF STUART 23I 

rebellion, and the king had no money to pay soldiers. 
There was nothing to do but to call Parlia- The "Long 
ment, and this Charles did in 1640. It was JJJ}}*", 
called the " Long Parliament," because it did 1640. 
not dissolve for twenty years. 

199. Parliament's opposition. Much as the people 
had suffered, they had not yet come to the point where 
they would accuse their king directly of unfaithfulness 
to the kingdom intrusted to him. Instead of Laud ^ 
this, they accused his advisers, Laud and Straf- straflord - 
ford, of treason, and both were sent to the Tower. 
Charles wrote a friendly letter to Strafford and said, 
" Upon the word of a king, you shall not suffer in life, 
honor, or fortune. This is but justice." Within three 
weeks Strafford had a chance to learn the value of the 
word of this king, for Charles signed his death warrant, 
and he was beheaded. Laud's execution took place a 
few years later. 

The king could easily find new men to serve him, 
thought Parliament, and an act was passed at once to 
abolish the Star Chamber and the Court of High Com- 
mission. More than once Charles had abruptly closed 
the session when he wished to stop the discussion of any 
matter, and now Parliament did not mean to be caught 
again in the same trap, so the next law enacted was that 
the present session should not be closed without the per- 
mission of a majority of the membeis. 

200. Trouble in Ireland. With England and Scot- 
land against the king, the next event was trouble in Ire- 
land. In the earlier times Ireland was superior to Eng- 
land in learning and cultivation, and the Irish schools 
were famed throughout Europe. Before the eleventh 
century they ceased to exist, chiefly because of the inva- 
sions of the Danes. The culture of many years was 



232 ENGLAND'S STORY [i2th-i6th Cent. 

destroyed. In the twelfth century, Henry II. had made 
a partial conquest of the eastern and southern parts of 
England's the island, but this conquest was in reality 
nectionwih nar dry more than establishing posts, from 
Ireland. which continual warfare was waged with the 
Irish. Moreover, the English within "the Pale," as the 
land held by them in Ireland was called, instead of help 
ing the Irish to recover the civilization they had lost, 
only scorned them ; but, strangely enough, before many 
years had passed, the English in Ireland were on no 
higher plane than their neighbors, though many laws 
had been made to keep the two peoples apart. There 
were laws that they should not intermarry, and that the 
English should not play the old Irish games or speak 
the Irish language. In the reign of Henry VII. it was 
decreed that if the Irish wished to make a law, they 
must first get permission from England. Henry VIII. 
called himself King of Ireland, and commanded the Irish 
to accept him as the head of the church. Even the wise 
Queen Elizabeth was exceedingly unwise in her treat- 
ment of the island, for she sent her favorite, the Earl of 
Essex, to Ireland as governor. Rebellion arose. There 
was famine, and the punishment of the starving people 
was so severe that the queen herself put a stop to it 
lest, as she said, she should have "nothing but ashes 
and corpses to ride over." 

The opposition of Henry VIII. had developed a strong 
Irish devotion to the Church of Rome, and when James 
„ ,, . persecuted the Irish to make them accept the 

Founding of r L 

London- Church of England, they were deeply resentful. 
There could hardly fail to be rebellion. In pun- 
ishment James seized all northeastern Ireland and granted 
it to any Scotchmen or Englishmen who wished to settle 
in that part of the country. Many went from London, 



6 D 



IRELAND 

1600-19OO 




L A a t 



B Longitude West 8 of Greenwich C 



1641-1642] THE HOUSE OF STUART 233 

and they named their settlement Londonderry in memory 
of their old home. 

Charles had appointed Strafford governor of Ireland, 
and although the earl introduced many measures for the 
good of the land, his rule was so harsh that a ^g^ 
very small injustice would arouse a revolt ; and revolts - 
it was not long before the Irish that had been turned 
out of their homes in northeastern Ireland did revolt 
and massacre many of the English settlers in their land. 
What should be done ? If England was to maintain her 
hold on Ireland, the revolt must be put down and pun- 
ished ; but to give the king men and money' was to en- 
danger the liberties of England, for he would then be 
strong enough to compel those members of Parliament 
who were opposed to him to submit to his will. 

201. The " Grand Remonstrance." There was much 
discussion. Some stood firmly by the king. Some 
thought that it was the wisest plan, since the king had 
yielded several points, to bear with him, and hope that 
nothing worse would come to pass. Some — and there 
were more of these than of both the other parties ■ — felt 
that they had endured as long as they could, and that 
they could put no confidence in anything that he might 
promise. They drew up a paper called the " Grand Re- 
monstrance," which named, one after another, the acts of 
Charles that were against the laws of the land. 

202. Charles tries to arrest members of Parliament. 
Charles well knew who were the five leaders of this third 
party, and he made up his mind to arrest them. A cer- 
tain soldier had a hint of what the king meant to do, and 
he contrived to let Parliament know what was coming to 
pass. The five men appeared and took their seats, but 
Parliament begged them to withdraw to prevent any 
scene of violence in the House. Four yielded, but the 



234 ENGLAND'S STORY [1642 

fifth would not go until an old friend pulled him out of 
the door just as the king drew near. The attendants 
stood back, and through the long lane between them the 
king passed, handsome and dignified, upstairs and to the 
House of Commons. The door was thrown open, and 
Charles walked slowly to the chair of the Speaker. All 
the members rose with uncovered heads to hear what the 
king might say. 

He looked about the House, but could not see the five 
members. Then he ordered the Speaker to point them 
out. The Speaker fell on his knees and answered : — 

"May it please your majesty, I have neither eyes to 
see nor tongue to speak in this place, but as the House 
is pleased to direct me, whose servant I am here, and 
humbly beg your majesty's pardon that I cannot give any 
other answer than this to what your majesty is pleased to 
demand of me." 

The king declared that what these five men had said in 
the House was treason, and not the "Privilege," or right 
of free discussion that belonged to every member of Par- 
liament, and he ordered the men to be sent to him as 
soon as they appeared. He explained " in the word of a 
king," as he said, that he had not intended to use force. 
He made his customary remark, that whatever he had 
done for the good of his subjects, this he should continue 
to do, and then he and his guards withdrew, while mem- 
bers of the House called " Privilege ! privilege ! " 

203. Why there "was no compromise. There were 
many efforts made to keep the two parties from violence, 
and the king was at last ready to promise almost every- 
thing that was asked of him. There would probably 
have been some compromise, had it not been that people 
knew by an experience of seventeen years that a promise 
from King Charles meant precisely nothing at all ; and 



1642] THE HOUSE OF STUART 235 

for one other reason, which was that the majority in the 
House of Commons were strict Puritans, and they were 
so fully convinced that their belief was the only right one 
that they meant to compel the king and the country to 
think just as they thought in all religious matters, and to 
do just as they did. 

204. The two parties. Now that affairs had come to 
a point where neither party would yield any further, there 
was nothing to do but to fight. The king went to Not- 





A CAVALIER A ROUNDHEAD 

tingham and called upon all loyal subjects to join him. 
Every man in the kingdom must stand on one side or the 
other. The majority of the men on the king's side were 
of some rank and fortune. They were the nobles, the 
clergy, and most of the men of means living in the 
country. They dressed well and rode well ; indeed, it 
was because of their horsemanship that the nickname, 
Cavaliers, was given to them. 

The forces of the Puritans were quite in contrast with 
these elegant gentlemen. While there were some among 
them of wealth and noble birth, most of them were men 
who lived on small farms in the country or kept stores in 



236 ENGLAND'S STORY [1642 

the city. Men of fashion wore long, curling hair, but the 
Puritans scorned any such folly, and they had their hair cut 
short. This is why they were nicknamed Roundheads. 

205. Civil War. It was in 1642 that the first fight- 
ing took place, and the first real battle was at Edgehill. 
EdgeMii. Neither army had had much training, but most 
1642. f tne king's me n were accustomed to riding, 

and therefore the royal cavalry was far superior to the 
undrilled Puritan footsoldiers, and this battle resulted in 
a victory for the king. Indeed, for some little time the 
king was successful, and had it not been for one strong, 
clear-headed man among the Puritans, the ending of the 
war might have been quite different from what it was. 

This man was named Oliver Cromwell. He had been 

a member of Parliament, but had left his seat to join the 

„, army. He saw at once that it was a mistake to 

Cromwell's J 

"iron- pay low wages and take every one that wished 
to become a soldier ; and he set to work to raise 
a regiment that should be of quite different material from 
the rest of the parliamentary army. He gave his men 
high wages, but he would admit to his ranks only those 
who were of good character and some education, and 
whose religious belief was like his own. There was 
neither swearing nor gambling nor drinking in Cromwell's 
lines. These soldiers were upright, honorable men, and 
no other troops could ever stand before them. Their 
great fault was that they could not understand how any 
one whose belief was not like theirs could be honest and 
true. They abhorred the Church of England and the 
Church of Rome, and they liked the Scotch Presbyteri- 
ans but little better, for Cromwell and his men thought 
that there should be no presbyters to govern the churches, 
but that every congregation should stand alone and rule 
itself in all things. 




CHANNEL 

ISLANDS C^} 



/^ longitude £ West of Greenwich B 



1643-1646] THE HOUSE OF STUART 237 

John Hampden had been killed in battle, and before 
long the command of the whole army passed into the 
hands of Oliver Cromwell and Sir Thomas Fair- The 
fax, and the men were trained as nearly as LeaguTand 
possible like Cromwell's first regiment of " Iron- Covenant." 
sides," as they were called. Before the war fairly broke 
out, Charles had asked Scotland to aid him, but that 
country refused. Parliament now asked the Scotch to 
unite with the English army against the king ; and the 
Scotch agreed on condition that the Presbyterian form of 
worship should be adopted in the English church. This 
did not please Cromwell, but finally a paper was drawn 
up called the " Solemn League and Covenant," and a 
union was formed. 

For two years the war went on. Then Prince Rupert, 
who commanded the royal forces, was defeated Marston 
at Marston Moor. Another year, and the king Moor, 
suffered another defeat at Naseby. His pri- Naseby. 
vate papers were captured, and then Parlia- 1645 " 
ment knew that Charles had been trying to hire foreign 
soldiers to come to England to fight his subjects. 

So many of the army felt that they were fighting for 
their religious belief that peace might possibly have been 
brought about if Charles had been willing that Charles 
Presbyterianism should become the national form t u J ne 11<iers 
of worship. This he positively refused. De- scotch, 
feated as he had been in one battle after another, he did 
not give up hope of overthrowing the power of Cromwell 
and his Independents, if he could only increase the quar- 
rel between them and the Scotch Presbyterians. TneScotcn 
Therefore, he disguised himself, slipped away surrender 

o , 1 j j in/ Charles. 

to the Scotch camp, and surrendered. Ine 

Scotch thought that now he would accept their terms 

and agree to establish Presbyterianism, but he refused. 



238 ENGLAND'S STORY [1646-1649 

Parliament had long been owing the Scotch army, and 
now, on payment of the debt, Charles was given over to 
that body. 

Cromwell and his Independents were as ready to oppose 
the Presbyterian Parliament as they had been to oppose 
the king. They made a sudden attack upon the castle in 
which Charles was confined and captured him, by no 
means against his will. Before long, Charles escaped to 
the Isle of Wight, and there, though he was really a 
prisoner, he tried to plan some way to outwit the Inde- 
pendents, just as King John in that same place had tried 
to find a way to outwit the barons. 

206. " Pride's Purge." Soon the army discovered 
that Parliament was trying to form a union of themselves, 
the Scotch, and the king. Colonel Pride was sent with a 
regiment of soldiers to thrust out of the House the one 
hundred and forty-three Presbyterian members. This 
act was known as " Pride's Purge," and it was certainly as 
arbitrary and tyrannical a deed as any that the king had 
ever committed. 

207. Execution of Charles. January 30, 1649. The 
rest of the Parliament decided to try the king for "high 
treason and other high crimes." Before this, kings had 
been deposed, or forced to flee to save their lives, or had 

I even been murdered, but to call a reigning sovereign into 
court and order him to defend himself was an entirely 
new idea. The king answered simply that he had nothing 
to say, since the court before which he was to be tried 
had no lawful authority. He was condemned, and ten 
days later he was executed. 

It is hard to think that a reasonable man could honestly 
Charles's believe that it was right for him to be truthful 
belief. with some people and untruthful with others ; 

but so far as one person may judge of another, this was 



2649] 



THE HOUSE OF STUART 



239 



the sincere belief of Charles I., king of England. For 
twenty-four years the country had suffered from his 




TRIAL OF CHARLES I. 



arrogance and treachery, and yet his last words on the 
scaffold, pronounced with calm dignity and with every 
appearance of sincerity, were, "lam a martyr to the 
people." 



240 ENGLAND'S STORY [1649 

For eight centuries the English had been ruled by a 
king. It is no wonder that they were aghast at this 
An anxious Public execution of their sovereign and the 
people. immediate declaration of Parliament that who- 
ever should venture, without the authority of that body, 
to name any person as king should be dealt with as a 
traitor. Charles was hardly buried before there began to 
be rumors of wonderful cures that had been brought 
about by the touch of a handkerchief wet with his blood. 
Many a man had strange dreams and visions of evil to 
come. Many a man felt that England without a sove- 
reign was a ship without a rudder, and feared exceedingly 
lest some terrible judgment should be visited upon the 
land that was stained with the blood of her own anointed 
king. 

SUMMARY 

The events of the last century had made men think, and 
as they were governed by a king who required unreasoning 
obedience to his treacherous and arbitrary rule, a clash was 
inevitable. In his marriage agreement Charles deceived 
both Roman Catholics and Protestants. He collected " ship 
money " and other illegal taxes, and revived " monopolies " 
and the Star Chamber. He signed the " Petition of Rights," 
but refused to allow discussion of abuses, and would call no 
Parliament for eleven years. The Puritans suffered especially 
from the Court of High Commissions, and finally a company 
sailed for America and founded Boston. An attempt to force 
the Prayer Book upon the Scotch set Scotland into a ferment, 
and to obtain funds to suppress the rebellion, the " Long 
Parliament" was summoned. Revolt against injustice and 
oppression produced uprisings and massacres in Ireland. 
The " Grand Remonstrance " was drawn up. Charles at- 
tempted to arrest members of Parliament for their free 
speech in the House. 



1649; THE HOUSE OF STUART 241 

The deceitfulness of the king and the narrowness of the 
Puritans prevented any compromise, and civil war followed. 
Under Cromwell's leadership the Roundheads were success- 
ful. Charles surrendered to the Scotch, and was given by 
them into the hands of a Presbyterian Parliament. Crom- 
well and his Independents captured the king. " Pride's 
Purge " expelled the Presbyterians from the House, and the 
Independents who remained condemned Charles to death. 

The Commonwealth and Cromwell 
1649-1660 

208. England governed by the Commons. The real 

power lay in the hands of Cromwell with the army to 
support him, but the little handful of men that were left 
in Parliament went on making laws for the whole country. 
They had already decreed that there should be no king, 
and now they declared that there was no need of a House 
of Lords, that the House of Commons could govern the 
nation. 

Perhaps the chief reason why there was anything like 
a peaceful government in England during the next eleven 
years was because there were so many different Different 
Parties, and because the army under Cromwell partles - 
was stronger than any one of them. There were Presby- 
terians and Independents, and there were " Levelers," 
who wished to have no titles and no differences of rank 
or political power. There were men who wished to give 
every one an equal share in whatever wealth was in the 
kingdom, and there were people who had no plan to sug- 
gest, but who were against everything that any one else 
proposed. There were many who had been royalists and 
had stood by the king from the beginning, and there 
were others who had not approved of Charles, but had 
wished his son to be king. No two of these parties 



242 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1649-165* 




OLIVER CROMWELL 



would unite, and therefore 
Cromwell and his army 
were in power. 

209. Prince Charles 
seeks the throne. Over 
in Holland was King 
Charles's oldest son, who 
was also named Charles. 
He was a young man of 
nineteen, and was the 
hope of the royalists. 
Little could be done for 
him in England, since 
Cromwell and the invin- 
cible army were there, 
but in Scotland and Ire- 
land there was a better chance, and the royalists of both 
countries had proclaimed him as their king. Scotland 
would stand by him if he would support the Presbyterian 
church, and Ireland would help him if he would promise 
freedom to the Roman Catholics and would give the island 
a Parliament of its own, like that of Scotland. 

The one fact that we Know of this young Charles that 
shows any earnestness of character is that he did make a 
Prince great effort to save his father's life, and sent 
chooses the Parliament a blank paper with his name and 
Irish. seal, for them to write what conditions they 

would if only his father might be spared. Aside from 
this, he shows himself only as a gay, trivial, idle young 
fellow ; and it is no wonder that between the offers of 
the two countries he shuddered at the strictness of the 
Scotch Presbyterians and chose the Irish for his friends. 
Cromwell and his army were sent at once to make it 
olear to the Irish that loyalty to the Roman Catholic 



1650-1651] THE HOUSE OF STUART 243 

church and devotion to any one claiming the title of king 
were henceforth to be regarded as the worst of crimes. 
For nine months there was slaughter after 

. . Vengeance 

slaughter in Ireland ; Irish or English, it mat- of the com- 
tered not, wherever either royalism or love for monwealtl1 - 
the Church of Rome had found a stronghold, there was 
devastation and remorseless massacre. Cromwell even 
attempted to drive all landowners in Ireland to the north- 
west, and to give their land to English settlers. Such a 
barbarous wrong as this it would have taken centuries of 
kindness to undo. 

Charles had now no chance in Ireland. His only hope 
was in Scotland, so thither he went ; and now he forgot 
his promises to the Irish and agreed to become Prince 
a Presbyterian, and to do all that he could to {jjjjjj'to the 
suppress the Roman Catholic church and also scotch. 
the Church of England. Cromwell pursued, and soon 
there was a battle at Dunbar. The royalists were beaten, 
but nevertheless, they carried the young prince to Scone, 
and even without their famous stone, they crowned him 
as Charles II. 

In a few months the terrible Cromwell appeared. The 
Scotch with Charles had come over the border into Eng- 
land, for they thought that English royalists TheBattle 

would crowd their ranks. They were much otworces- 

. . , j ter. 1651. 

disappointed, for few came to join them, and 

worst of all, there was a battle at Worcester in which 

nearly all the Scotch army was cut down. 

210. Flight of Charles. The only hope for Charles 
was to flee across the water. After the battle he 
contrived to slip away into a narrow road, and then 
he galloped all night long. In the morning he disguised 
himself, and with a young "country fellow" as guide set 
out to walk to the Severn. All day they were in the 



244 ENGLAND'S STORY [1651 

woods, tired and hungry, and glad enough to get some 
bread and cheese at night. As it grew dark, Charles's 
guide appealed to a gentleman to hide his companion. 

" I '11 not risk my neck for any man, save he be the 
king himself," said the gentleman stoutly. 

"But this is the king," whispered the young fellow; 
and then the royal fugitive and his companion were 
safely stowed away in a barn. The next day Charles 
went on farther and met a royalist officer called Colonel 
m the oak Careless. He suggested that the best place 
tree. f r the king was not in the woods, where every 

one was looking for him, but in a great oak tree in an open 
plain. So into the tree the king and the colonel went, 
and there they stayed all day long, peering out between 
the branches and catching glimpses now and then of the 
soldiers of Parliament who were searching in the forest 
for the fugitive. After a long walk the poor young king 
arrived at the next house where he ventured to rest, 
with his feet bruised and blistered ; but after he had had 
food and rest, he cheered up. " If I only had ten thou- 
sand good loyal soldiers," said he, "I would soon drive 
all the rogues out of my kingdom." 

Charles was next disguised as a serving-man, and for 

many miles he attended a loyal lady and her cousin. His 

horse lost a shoe, and when the servant said to 
The prince 

asaserv- the smith, "What news is there? the smith 
ng-man. answe red, " None, for that rogue Charles Stuart 
has not been taken yet." "The fellow deserves hang- 
ing," said Charles soberly, and the smith gave him a 
hearty slap on the shoulder and said, " You 're an honest 
man, that 's what you are." 

So Charles went on in one disguise and another till he 
The prince came to the sea, and then over the water to 
in safety. Rouen. He and his friend were so shabby that 



1653] 



THE HOUSE OF STUART 



245 



the inn-keeper hesitated to let them into his house, but 
Charles was in France, and he was safe. For forty-four 
days he had been in the utmost danger, and through it 
all he had been brave and cheerful. Never did a man 




SEAL OF THE COMMONWEALTH, SHOWING PARLIAMENT 



have better friends, for though it was called treason to 
help him and there was a reward of one thousand pounds 
to any one that would give him up, not one of the many 
that knew the secret would betray him. 

211. Cromwell dissolves Parliament. Four years 
had passed since the execution of Charles L, and still the 
little handful of men made laws for the nation. Crom- 
well believed that Parliament ought to represent the 
country somewhat more generally, but those who were 
already members wished to be free to retain their seats 
as long as they chose, and when vacancies did occur, to 
fill them with such men only as they were willing to 
receive. 

Word was brought to Cromwell that a law to this effect 
was to be made, and he went to Parliament with his 
soldiers. He thought it the height of tyranny when 
Charles I. came to the House and attempted to seize 



240 ENGLAND'S STORY [1653 

five men, but now he himself went to the House, and 
when this law was about to be passed, he burst into a 
storm of rage. 

"You care nothing for the public good," said he. 
"The Lord is done with you ; He has better men to carry 
on His work." Then he strode " up and down the House 
like a madman " and stamped on the floor, and shouted, 
" You are no Parliament, I say you are no Parliament. 
There sits a drunkard," and he pointed to one. " May the 
Lord deliver me from you," he said to another. "I will 
put an end to your sitting. Call them in ; call them in." 

In came "two files of musketeers," and every member 
of Parliament was driven from the House. " You have 
forced me to do it," said Cromwell sadly, his wrath all 
gone. " I have sought the Lord night and day that He 
would rather slay me than put me upon the doing of this 
work." Then he ordered the House to be locked. The 
French minister reported to his government that some 
one wrote on the door, " This house is now to let unfur- 
nished." 

212. Cromwell as Lord Protector. Cromwell and 
his officers appointed a Council, of which he was presi- 
dent. They obtained from various Independent ministers 
lists of men who seemed to them fit to sit in Parliament, 
and then Cromwell and his Council chose among them. 
One member was named Praise-God Barebone, — for the 
Puritans were fond of taking some Bible phrase to use 
instead of their own names, — and therefore the royalists 
"Bar©- called this assembly "Barebone's Parliament." 
pariia- It: soon adjourned, but a few days later the 
ment" Council " prayed Cromwell to accept the office 
of Lord Protector." He went to live in King Charles's 
palace, and was far more arbitrary than the king had ever 
been. There was a great difference, however, in their 



1653] 



THE HOUSE OF STUART 



247 



arbitrariness, for Charles meant to have his own way 

because it was his way and no one had a right to oppose 

him ; while Cromwell meant to have his way because he 

felt sure that it was best for the country. 

It is hard to say what would have been the result if, 

after the death of Charles, there had not been a strong 

hand to rule the nation. Ever since the days of , , 

J Naval glory 

Elizabeth, the power and reputation of England of the Pro- 
had been constantly sinking ; with Cromwell at 
the head, the old glory of the land returned. Perhaps 
the greatest naval exploit of the Protectorate occurred 
during the war with Holland. The Dutch were carrying 
goods to and fro for sale among different countries, and 
this was a great loss to England, for her merchants were 
almost driven out of the carrying trade. Two years after 
the king's execution, " Navigation Laws " had been passed 
in England, forbidding England or any English colony to 




MEDAL COMMEMORATING VICTORY OVER THE DUTCH 



import or export goods in Dutch vessels. Of course 
Holland was aroused, and all the more readily did she 
sympathize with royalists who made that land the centre 
of their plots against Cromwell's government. War fol- 



248 ENGLAND'S STORY [1658 

lowed. The Dutch commander nailed a broom to his 
masthead to signify that he had swept the Channel clean 
England of English vessels ; but it was not long before 
SJk. sDun ~ k e > t00 > was swe Pt from the Channel, and, more- 
1658. over, Dunkirk in Flanders fell into the hands 

of the English, — a thing that caused great rejoicing, for 
they felt as if they need no longer lament the loss of 
Calais, which had so sorely troubled Queen Mary. 

England was again a great power, and in Cromwell's 
speech to his first Parliament, he said : " I dare say there 
Cromwell * s not a nat i° n m Europe but is very willing to 
protects the ask a good understanding with vou." Crom- 

Waldenses, 

well's favorite plan was that England should act 
as the protector of Protestants all over Europe. The 
Waldenses, a quiet, humble people who lived among the 
valleys of the Alps, had been terribly persecuted because 
they would not give up their religion. They contrived to 
appeal to Cromwell, and he sent straightway an emphatic 
message to the Duke of Savoy that the Waldenses must 
be allowed to practise their religion as they would. The 
duke had no wish to contend with Cromwell's " Iron- 
sides," and from that moment the Waldenses were left 
in peace. 

One of the most earnest of Cromwell's supporters was 
John a great poet,. John Milton. He wrote a strong 

Milton. anc j b eau tif u i sonnet about the sufferings of the 
Waldenses, beginning : — 

" Avenge, O Lord, thy slaughtered saints, whose bones 
Lie scattered on the Alpine mountains cold." 

Save for a few sonnets, Milton wrote for more than 
twenty years hardly a line of poetry, but gave all his 
talent to the service of his native land, acting as Crom- 
well's secretary, and issuing fierce pamphlets in defence 




JOHN MILTON 



1653-1658] THE HOUSE OF STUART 249 

of the Puritans. He knew that the great amount of 
work that he was doing was ruining his eyesight, but he 
went on, feeling that he 
must do everything in 
his power for his coun- 
try; and when he was 
free, he dictated his 
great poem, " Paradise 
Lost," in total blind- 
ness. 

Cromwell's rule in 
England was exceed- 
ingly Strict, owmwrtl'i 
but he was ^erality. 

far more liberal than 
any one would have ex- 
pected. Edward I. had 
banished the Jews, and Cromwell allowed them to return. 
He was kind to the Quakers, whom many people on both 
sides of the sea looked upon as enemies to church and 
state. He was the first to think of sending missionaries 
to the Indians of America. The first one that came was 
the earnest John Eliot, who translated the Bible into the 
language of the Indians of Massachusetts. 

213. Dissatisfaction. It was a good government, but 
it was arbitrary, and the people of England were not 
satisfied to have power so absolute in the hands of any 
one man. Then, too, there were very strict laws forbid- 
ding many things that a great part of the nation looked 
upon as harmless. The Puritans called it wicked to play 
chess, to dance around a May-pole, to go fox-hunting, or 
to eat mince-pie at Christmas. As for the theatres, they 
had all been closed in 1642, for the Puritans could see no 
difference between the noble plays of Shakespeare and 



2$0 ENGLAND'S STORY [1653-1658 

the vulgar ones in which King James delighted, so they 
were all condemned together. People who did not go to 
church were fined, and people who went to a distant 
church when there was one at hand were fined. 

214. Puritan extremes. One could easily forgive 
the Puritans for refusing to play chess or for spending 
Christmas in fasting rather than in feasting; but it is 
not so easy to overlook their destruction of the fine old 
monuments and statues and stained glass windows in the 
churches, and their stabling horses in the beautiful cathe- 
drals, and marching in with axes to destroy the rich old 
carvings. The one excuse is that they firmly believed 
they were doing what was right and pleasing to God. 
Moreover, when Charles I. was dead and they were in 
power, many joined them who wished only to be on the 
popular side ; and these new converts were much more 
inclined to go to extremes than were the original members 
of the party. The Puritans certainly did some absurd 
things, but they were true, earnest, honest, straightfor- 
ward, self-sacrificing men with a sincere love of liberty, — 
only they thought that their own way was the one true 
way of liberty. 

215. Cromwell's last years. After being so brave 
and so determined all his life, Cromwell's courage seemed 
to fail him during his last years. He had met thousands 
of armed men without a shadow of fear, but now he 
feared every shadow. He wore a shirt of mail because 
he was afraid of being stabbed, and he was so alarmed 
lest some one should break into his bed-chamber that he 
rarely slept in the same room for two consecutive nights. 
At last mortal illness came upon him. When he was 
made Protector it was decreed that he should decide who 
was to follow him ; but he had named no one, and the 
Puritans knew not who could succeed him. Some of 



1658-1660] THE HOUSE OF STUART 251 

the royalists were rejoiced that he who had murdered 
their king, as they said, and usurped his throne would 
hold the place but little longer. Others, longing as 
eagerly as they for the return of a lawful sovereign, could 
but dread the change and overthrow, and the uncertain- 
ties of the days to come. 

216. Cromwell's successor. Soon there came a night 
when all the land knew that Cromwell was dying. He 
was urged to say who should succeed him. In this last 
hour love for his son and a wish that one of his own 
name should carry on the work that he had begun were 
in control, and he whispered, " Richard." He was buried 
— for a little while — in Westminster Abbey, and Rich- 
ard Cromwell became Protector in his father's stead. 

It would have taken a firm hand to rule in place of 
Cromwell. Richard was a Puritan, but he had no sym- 
pathy with those of his party who went to Richard's 
extremes, and he was not strong enough to rule - 
suppress them as his father had done. He was kind and 
gentle and good-hearted, but he could not govern a nation. 
There was only one power in the land, and that was the 
army. The army was made up in great degree of Inde- 
pendents, and they wished matters to remain as they 
were ; but the Presbyterians and the Cavaliers thought 
that anything was better than to let the army hold all the 
power. 

217. Calls issued for a " free " Parliament. No one 
knew just what to do, but the matter soon settled itself, for 
the army requested Richard to resign. He yielded at once 
and apparently without the least objection, and people 
called him " Tumble-down Dick." The army General 
soon ceased to be united, and General Monk, Monk - 
who was the most powerful officer, came with his men 
from Scotland. Every one looked to him to be the leader. 



252 ENGLAND'S STORY [1660 

He was a quiet, silent man, but when he had once made 
up his mind, he did not change. The Common Council 
of London told him that the people would pay no more 
taxes that were decreed by a limited Parliament like the 
one then in session. Still Monk hesitated. At last he 
came to a decision, and he wrote a bold, firm letter to 
that body, bidding them issue calls for a "free" Parlia- 
ment, that is, for a Parliament elected by the nation, and 
not by the Puritans alone. 

SUMMARY 

The period began with a small Presbyterian House of 
Commons making laws for the nation, and with the chief 
power in the hands of Cromwell, supported by the army. 
Prince Charles, seeking first the aid of Ireland and then that 
of Scotland, attempted in vain to recover his father's throne. 
Finally, Cromwell dissolved Parliament by force, and the land 
was ruled by a Council that soon made him Lord Protector. 

His methods of ruling were often arbitrary, but he did 
what he really believed was for the good of the land. He 
restored the naval glory of England, protected the Waldenses, 
allowed the Jews to return, and sent missionaries to the 
American Indians. His rule was good, and England pros- 
pered ; but the reaction against Puritan narrowness set in, 
and not long after Cromwell's death, his son and successor 
was forced to resign the position of Protector, and calls were 
issued for a " free " Parliament. 

26. Charles II. 1660-1685 

218. The "Restoration." Parliament again consisted 
of a House of Lords and a House of Commons, and 
almost the first thing that they did was to send to Hol- 
land to ask Charles to return. They seemed to lose all 
idea of prudence, for they did not require him to make 
any definite promises about what he would do after he 



i66o] 



THE HOUSE OF STUART 



253 



had become king of England. He merely made a kind 
of general statement that he would leave all troublesome 
questions to Parliament. 

Great preparations were made to receive the king. 
The flagship of the fleet that was to bring him and his 
brother James to England was named the " Naseby," in 




THE ROYAL CHARLES 



honor of one of Cromwell's victories over Charles I. 
That would never do, so when they sailed away from 
Holland, the name was changed to the "Charles." 
There were trumpets and drums and flags and hand- 
some clothes, and the English had not forgotten to send 
a portmanteau full of good yellow gold and with it a bill 
of exchange for five times as much. One of the rhymers 
of the day wrote : — 

" At length by wonderful impulse of fate, 
The people call him home to help the state ; 
And what is more, they send him money, too, 
And clothe him all, from head to foot, anew." 

Up and down the deck the king paced, telling of his 
escape after the battle of Worcester, and smiling grimly 



254 ENGLAND'S STORY [1660 

when he spoke of the coarse shoes that had hurt his feet 
so badly. 

When the royal company landed in London, there was 
the merriest time that can be imagined. The streets 
Charles's were crowded with citizens and nobles. The 
welcome, mayor presented the king with " a very rich 
Bible," and Charles thanked him, saying, "It is the 
thing that I love above all things in the world." There 
were flowers and banners and wine and music and rich 
clothes and shouts of joy ; and so it was that Charles II. 
returned to the throne of his father. He took all this de- 
votion as his rightful due and said with a laugh, " It must 
have been my own fault that I did not come before, for I 
find no one but declares that he is glad to see me." 

Charles was accompanied by a long retinue of people, 
and there was also "a dog that the king loved," and he 
The royal came with all honor in a boat with Mr. Pepys, 
dog - the secretary to the admiralty. It was probably 

this same dog that was advertised as lost some three 
weeks later ; and the next week another advertisement 
appeared which is so like the king that it is thought he 
must have written it. It ends : — 

"Will tney never leave robbing his majesty? Must 
he not keep a dog ? This dog's place (though better 
than some imagine) is the only place which nobody offers 
to beg." 

219. Punishment of the regicides. The first busi- 
ness of Parliament was to punish the people that had been 
concerned in the condemnation of Charles I. Chief among 
them were the "regicides," as those men were called 
who had acted as judges when he was tried. Thirteen 
were executed.^ Three of them had escaped to America, 
and there is a tradition that years afterwards, when the 
1 Green's Short History of the English People. 



T66o] THE HOUSE OF STUART 255 

Indians attacked Hadley in Massachusetts and the set- 
tlers knew not what to do, suddenly an old man with 
Jong, gray hair and beard, who proved to be one of the 
regicides, was seen in the midst of the frightened people. 
He took command like one who knew how to rule, routed 
the Indians, and saved the little colony. 

One piece of parliamentary revenge was most dis- 
graceful. The body of Cromwell was taken from West- 
minster Abbey where it had been laid, hanged in chains, 
beheaded, and buried at the foot of the gallows. Even 
worse than that, the bones of his wife and his daughter 
were dug up and thrown into a great pit. 

220. Devotion of Parliament. Parliament could not 
do enough for the new king. They voted him so large 
an income that he was far more independent than Eliza- 
beth had ever been ; and when he came to be crowned, 
people went wild with delight. Of course the « The royal 
story of the oak tree had been told over and oak -" 
over, and now in memory of it a great arch was built 
in London for the king and all the long procession to 
walk under. The keystone of the arch was a portrait 
of Charles in his royal robes, and behind him was an 
oak tree bearing crowns and sceptres instead of leaves 
and acorns. Colonel Careless, who had 
spent a long day in the tree with the 
king when Cromwell's soldiers were 
searching for him, was given the right 
to bear a coat of arms consisting of an 
oak-leaf garland in which a sword and 
sceptre were crossed. Charles also 
asked the Colonel to change « Care- ™^™ A i™^ 
less " to " Carlos," the Spanish form of 
Charles, so that it might be nearly like his own name. 
The king's birthday was May 29, and it became the cus* 




256 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1660 



torn to call it " Oak-apple Day." Boys would go tc the 
woods at dawn to bring home branches of oak trees, each 
trying to carry a larger branch than the others. They 
used to say : — 

" The royal oak, it was the tree 
That saved his royal majesty." 

221. Charles's character. It is a great pity that 
Charles was not worthy of all this adoration, but he 

cared for nothing 
except a gay time. 
All the old amuse- 
ments were re- 
stored, and the 
whole nation 
seemed to give it- 
self up to merri- 
ment. If he had 
wished for innocent 
"good times," that 
would have been 
a different matter, 
but he was shame- 
less and immoral 
in his sports. Dis- 
solute women were 
given high titles, 
and the king sur- 
rounded himself with the most profligate companions. 
Any one looking on would have thought that the whole 
court gloried in being as wicked as possible. Charles 
allowed his favorites to make all sorts of jests about 
him, and one wrote what he pretended was the king's 
epitaph : — 




CHARLES II. 



1660-1670] THE HOUSE OF STUART 257 

" Here lies our sovereign lord, the king, 
Whose word no man relies on ; 
Who never says a foolish thing, 
Nor never does a wise one." 

The king replied, " True, because my words are my own, 
and my acts are my minister's" — and he seemed to 
think that to get the better of a courtier in a repartee 
was all that could be asked of a king. 

At first the nation sympathized with his merriment. 
The years had been so grave and gloomy that it was cer- 
tainly a relief to have a king who was good-humored and 
witty ; but people soon began to realize that more than 
wit and agreeable manners are needed in the Charles's 
man who stands at the head of a nation ; and ne e lect - 
more than one remembered that Cromwell and his Par- 
liament, even if they had been strict and serious, had not 
given their time to selfish pleasures, and had conscien- 
tiously tried to do what they believed was for the good of 
the country. Mr. Pepys, the secretary of the admiralty, 
who had welcomed Charles so jubilantly, now wrote 
sadly in his diary : "The king do mind nothing but plea- 
sures, and hates the very sight or thoughts of business." 

No gratitude had Charles for those who had lost their 
lands or risked their lives in his service. ' He was ready 
to grant a coat of arms or to found a society of Charles's 
"Knights of the Royal Oak," but he would not ingratitude, 
forego one of his shameless pleasures to try to make up 
to his friends what they had lost in his service. That 
the king had any responsibility never seemed to enter 
his mind. 

222. Religious persecutions. In the midst of all this 
mad frivolity, the people who wished to live simply and 
truly were so aghast at the wickedness of the times that 
they felt more strongly than ever that doing right was 



258 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1670-1682 



the most necessary thing in the world. It was in these 
Pilgrim's days tnat " Pilgrim's Progress," the best of all 
Progress, allegories, was written. Its author was John 
Bunyan, a Puritan, and for the crime of refusing to at- 
tend the Church of England, and persisting in preaching 
to any one that would listen to him, he was imprisoned 
for twelve years. It was while he was in jail that he 
wrote this marvellous book. 

John Bunyan was not the only man that suffered for 
his religious belief. The Puritans were again forbidden 
to meet for prayer and preaching even in a private house ; 
and if a man offered prayer in his own home when more 
than three were present, they were all liable to be impris- 
oned. The same law applied to the Quakers, and they 
met together so openly that soon the jails were overflow- 
ing with them. It was in this reign of Charles that 
William Penn asked the king to give him a tract of land 
Pennsyi- i n America instead of a large sum of money 
vania. that the government owed his father. This re- 

quest was granted very willingly, and henceforth the 
Quakers had a refuge in the New World, when life in 

England became unbearable. 
The Roman Catholics did 
not suffer from fines and 
imprisonment, but a law was 
made forbidding any one to 
hold office under govern- 
ment unless he had taken 
certain oaths that no Roman 
Catholic could conscien- 
tiously repeat. This last law 
was one with which the king 
had no sympathy, for his 
john bunyan younger brother James was 




1665-1666] THE HOUSE OF STUART 259 

a Roman Catholic, and he himself became one before his 
death. 

223. The Great Plague. 1665. When Charles had 
been on the throne five years, several comets appeared 
in the sky. People were afraid of comets, and all won- 
dered what terrible event would come to pass. There 
was a hot, dry spring, and then came the Great Plague, 
which swept over England as the Black Death had done 
three hundred years before. Whenever any one was 
taken with it, the words, " Lord, have mercy upon us," 
were written with red chalk on his door. Every one 
who could leave hurried to the country. The stores were 
closed. The streets were silent as the tomb except for 
the passing of the dead-cart and the awful cry, " Bring 
out your dead, bring out your dead." People did not 
venture out of doors if they could help it, and if they met 
any one on the street, they would cover their faces and 
hurry along for fear of catching the disease. At first the 
dead were buried only in the night, but soon so many 
died that there were burials and the tolling of bells all 
night long and all day long. Many of the Puritan minis- 
ters stayed in the city and bravely did all that they could 
for the dying, but as soon as the plague was over, they 
were persecuted as severely as ever. After six months 
had passed the pestilence began to die out, and a little 
later people ventured to return from the country. Great 
fires had been kept burning in the streets to purify the 
air, but the houses were old and dirty, and it seemed 
as if nothing but their destruction would conquer the 
disease. 

224. The Great Fire. The next year came the great fire, 
"a most horrid, malicious, bloody flame," says Mr. Pepys 
in his journal. For three days it swept the city of Lon- 
don; houses, stores, and churches were in ashes, and 



260 ENGLAND'S STORY [1664-1666 

only a little group of buildings remained. Not many- 
lives were lost, but the poor people suffered terribly, for 
almost everything that they possessed was destroyed. 
Charles and his brother James were both very kind to 
the sufferers, and did all that they could to help them. 
One of Charles's council heartlessly suggested that the fire 
was a good thing, for London had always been rebellious 
to her rulers, and now the king could govern the city as 
he liked. It is good to know that Charles was very in- 
dignant at this speech. The famous architect, Sir Chris- 
topher Wren, had a plan for rebuilding the city so that 
there would be no more narrow, winding streets, but the 
owners of property would not agree to any change, and 
the city was rebuilt on the same foundations, though 
much brick and stone was used instead of wood. 

225. Charles robs the treasury. Poor London had 
another trouble to meet that was almost as bad as the 
fire. The country was at war with Holland, but Charles 
had spent on his pleasures the money that Parliament 
had voted for the war. He was longing to rule without 
Parliament, and he thought that he could if there was 
only some way to get money. The French king, Louis 
XIV., was very rich, and to get Dunkirk back he had 
given Charles a large sum, and promised to give him 
much more if he would help conquer the Dutch. Charles 
had not the money for a Dutch war, but he seized from 
the national treasury what would be equal to nine or ten 
million dollars to-day and spent it partly on the war it is 
true, but chiefly for his own pleasures. This money had 
been collected to repay wealthy citizens of London who 
had lent large sums to the government, and when they 
were not repaid, many merchants and bankers were 
ruined. It was in this war that the English took New 
York. The Dutch had made a settlement at the mouth 



1678-1683] THE HOUSE OF STUART 



26l 



of the Hudson, which they named New Netheriand, but 
Charles sent over a fleet to take possession of it, and 
then he gave it to his brother James. As James was 
Duke of York, the name of the city was changed to New 
York in his honor. 

226. The Habeas Corpus Act. Throughout the king- 
dom men were uneasy and restless. More than one wished 
for the old days of Crom- 
well. An infamous or half 
insane man, named Titus 
Oates, declared that a 
gigantic plot had been 
formed by the Roman 
Catholics to burn Lon- 
don and murder the king. 
This was false, but the 
Rye House Plot, as it was 
called, was formed by 
some of the Scotch Puri- 
tans to murder Charles 
and James at the Rye 
House near London. This 
failed. A great increase 
of liberty came about, however, not by murder, but by 
the passage of the Habeas Corpus Act in 1679. A writ 
of Habeas Corpus orders the sheriff to produce the body 
in court of the prisoner who has applied for the writ, so 
that, if unfairly imprisoned, he may be set free. It also 
prevents his being kept an unreasonable length of time 
without a trial. The principle was not new to English 
legal practice, but never before had it been formally 
adopted as a law. 

227. Charles's successor. The more strongly Pro- 
testant the country became, the more eager was Charles 




COSTUMES OF GENTLEMEN ABOUT 1675 
Showing periwig, feathers, lace, etc. 



262 ENGLAND'S STORY [1679-168$ 

to make it Roman Catholic. He tried his best to have 
laws passed that would allow him to favor the church of 
his choice, but Parliament refused. The religious ques- 
tion made it very difficult for Parliament to decide 
who should reign after Charles. His next heir was his 
brother James, but James was a Roman Catholic, and 
the country wished to have a Protestant. Parliament 
tried to pass a bill called the " Exclusion Bill," that would 
shut James from the throne, but it failed, partly be- 
cause the king did everything that he could against it, 
and partly because people could not unite upon a suc- 
Dukeof cessor to Charles. Some wished to give the 
Monmouth. cr0W n to the Duke of Monmouth, an illegiti- 
mate son of Charles, who was a Protestant ; and some 
wished to give it to one of James's two daughters, who 
were both Protestants ; while some thought that the only 
safe way was to " exclude " James and his children. How 
the matter would have been settled is a question, but 
Charles suddenly died, before anything was arranged, and 
there was nothing to do but to put James on the throne. 
There was then, in 1685, a king whom the majority of 
the people did not want, but tolerated in order to prevent 
civil war; and there was a rival whom the majority of 
the people heartily wished could have been the legal heir. 
It is easy to see what is likely to be the story of the reign 
of King James II. 

SUMMARY 

On the return of Charles II. the regicide judges were pun- 
ished, and Cromwell's grave was shamelessly violated. Par- 
liament was devoted to an extravagant, ungrateful, and disso 
lute king, who cared for nothing but his own disgraceful 
amusements. Gradually two parties were formed, one deter- 
mined to maintain the hereditary succession to the throne, 



I685] THE HOUSE OF STUART 263 

a course that would increase the power of the sovereign ; 
the other determined to secure for the future a Protestant 
ruler who, having been put on the throne by the people rather 
than by any right of birth, would be more strictly accountable 
to the people for his deeds. 

The reign was marked by the Great Plague, which was fol- 
lowed by the Great Fire of London. Puritans and Quakers 
were persecuted. The harassing of the Puritans brought 
forth " Pilgrim's Progress ; " the persecution of the Quakers 
resulted in the settlement of Pennsylvania. 



27. James II. 1685-1688 

228. " King Monmouth's " rebellion. Four months 

after the reign of James began, there was a rebellion 
against him, followed by a revenge that was worse than 
the rebellion. The Duke of Monmouth, or "King Mon- 
mouth," as his supporters called him, was in Holland, 
and he felt so sure that people in England wished him 
to be king, that he thought all he had to do was to 
make his appearance and be put on the throne. 

Word was brought to London one day that three Dutch 
vessels had been seen off the southern coast of England. 
Late in the afternoon it was known that these three 
vessels had sailed directly from Holland, and that the 
Duke of Monmouth was probably on board. Parliament 
passed various resolutions in support of the king. One 
made it treason not only to propose any other king, but 
even to say that Monmouth was the lawful son of Charles. 

The duke had landed with but a few followers. Others 
joined him, but any possibility that he might have had a 
more general support was destroyed at once by Monmouth 
a foolish proclamation that he issued, accusing in Taunton - 
King James of burning the city of London, of murder- 
ing his brother Charles, and of originating the plot which 



264 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1685 



Titus Oates said had been formed. Still, there were some 
who firmly believed Monmouth to be the rightful heir 

to the throne, and 
there were others 
who were ready to 
support him in the 
hope that through 
him the land might 
again have a Pro- 
testant sovereign. 
The Puritan influ- 
ence was especially 
strong in Taun- 
I ton, and thither 
jjL "King Monmouth" 
|\| marched. Flowers 
and green leaves 
were strewn in his 
way, and people 
hung wreaths and 
flags from the 
houses. A company of enthusiastic schoolgirls came out 
eagerly to present him with banners that they themselves 
had made. 

Monmouth was at the height of his glory ; but in less 
than one month his claims were brought to the test of 
Downfall of battle, and he was defeated and captured. He 
Monmouth, begged for mercy, and actually crawled to the 
feet of his uncle, promising to do anything if only his life 
might be spared. He who had claimed the right to stand 
at the head of Protestantism in England tried to win 
the favor of James by promising to become a Roman 
Catholic. James told him that he might see a priest if 
he wished to change his belief ; but the rebel was not 




THE DUKE OF MONMOUTH 



1685] THE HOUSE OF STUART 265 

pardoned, and only a few days after the battle he was 
executed. 

229. James's revenge. The execution of the leader 
was no more than would have been expected, but a pitiless 
revenge was visited upon the country folk who had sup- 
ported him. First, Colonel Kirke and his ferocious 
soldiers, afterwards called " Kirke's Lambs," "Kirke's 
pursued those who had fled after the battle. Lam * s " 
These poor fugitives were horribly tortured, and as the 
soldiers drank and revelled, one after another of their 
prisoners was hanged to add to their fiendish amusement. 

Much worse than even this was the tour of the chief 
justice of England, Judge Jeffreys, who went about 
through the revolting districts holding a court, 
which became known as the " Bloody Assizes." Jeffreys 
The first victim was a gentle old lady who had "Bloody 
given a night's lodging to a fugitive who proved Assizes -" 
to be a friend of Monmouth. Jeffreys sentenced her to 
be burned alive, and it was only by the efforts of the 
clergy that she was permitted to be beheaded. The 
parents of the young girls who had made the banners 
for Monmouth had to pay a large sum to save their 
daughters' lives. If a man could offer a great bribe, he 
was safe ; but few of Monmouth's supporters were rich, 
and the slaughter went on. Jeffreys laughed and jested 
in the most heart-rending scenes, and boasted that he 
had hanged more traitors than had been put to death in 
six hundred years. There is no question that he told the 
truth, for more than one thousand were hanged or be- 
headed or savagely flogged, and at least eight hundred 
were sold as slaves to the West Indies. The bodies of 
many that were put to death were cut into several pieces, 
and these pieces were boiled in pitch and distributed 
among the villages to be put up on guideposts or on 



266 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



(1685 




JUDGE JEFFREYS 

church towers. It is no wonder that even a century 
after the terrible time, people were afraid to go in the 
dark by the places where the gallows of Jeffreys had 
Daniel stood. Daniel Defoe, who afterwards wrote 
Defoe. " Robinson Crusoe," was one of those who 

joined Monmouth's army, but he fortunately escaped 
capture. When Jeffreys returned to London, James was 
so pleased with what he had done that he made him lord 
chancellor, though it is said that Jeffreys' s own father 
refused to let him enter his house. 

230. James's arbitrary rule. James was a Stuart 
and believed in the " divine right of kings " as firmly as 



1066-1307] THE HOUSE OF STUART 267 

did the first James. When Parliament feared that he 
would follow his father's plan of not calling a session 
unless he had to ask for money, and therefore did not 
vote him as much as he had demanded, he announced 
coolly, " The best way to meet me often is to use me 
well." 

James began with a pretence of liberality, and freed 
from prison all who were in confinement for refusing to 
acknowledge the king as head of the church in England. 
This looked well, but as it was only Roman Catholics 
and Quakers that had refused to take the oath, persecu- 
tes act was hardly as liberal as it seemed ; and tions - 
what his liberality really was could be seen by his perse- 
cution of the Scotch Presbyterians. Women were tied 
to stakes set on the shore at low tide, so that when the 
water rose they were drowned ; men were shot down at 
their own doors like wild beasts ; and the only offence 
of these people was that they did not think it right to 
attend the services of the Church of England. 

231. James attempts to restore the Roman Catholic 
Church in England. Against the will of Parliament the 
king collected a large army, and then he demanded that 
Roman Catholics should be allowed to hold office. Par- 
liament would not agree, but he put his friends into 
office as if he were the only authority in the land. The 
pope cautioned him not to attempt such arbitrary mea- 
sures ; and the Roman Catholics in England, however 
glad they might be of the favor shown to their church, 
saw plainly that by breaking the laws of the land, he was 
doing them no real good, and that matters would only 
be harder for them in the end. He paid no attention 
to their advice, but instead issued a Declaration of In- 
dulgence, granting religious freedom to both Roman 
Catholics and Protestants. 



268 ENGLAND'S STORY [1688 

While there were some who believed that this would 
be a good law, every one knew that not the king but 
Parliament was the only authority that could make a 
law, and all could see that James's only aim in making 
the decree was not to give religious liberty, but to in- 
crease the power of his own church. The king paid no 
" attention to any protests, but ordered his procla- 
prooiama- mation to be read in every church in the land. 
One clergyman said to his people, " I am obliged 
to read it in the church, but you are not obliged to listen 
to it ; so, if you please, I will wait until you have left the 
building." London was as independent as ever, and it is 
said that the paper was read in but four of her churches. 

The Archbishop of Canterbury and six other bishops 
had petitioned the king not to insist upon their reading 
this proclamation. James was indignant that they had 
delayed till the last moment. He might, however, have 
yielded, had he not learned that the petition had been 
printed and was being sold in the streets. This looked 
like rebellion. He believed that it was planned by his 
opponents, and he sent the bishops to the Tower 
mentoftiw to await trial. James had thought that at least 
the Puritan ministers who were so opposed to 
having any bishops would be on his side, and he was 
surprised and angry when a number of them went to the 
Tower to see the prisoners and to express their sympathy. 
One of the bishops, named Trelawny, was from Cornwall, 
and the stout-hearted Cornishmen began to sing : — 

" And shall Trelawny die, 
And shall Trelawny die ? 
There 's twenty thousand Cornishmen 
Will know the reason why." 

The bishops were tried for " seditious libel " and were 
acquitted. London was wild with delight ; the streets 



1688] 



THE HOUSE OF STUART 



269 



were all aglow with bonfires, and the houses shone with 
illuminations. James made an attempt to punish some 
of these jubilant people, but every time that any of them 
were tried in court the jury would bring in a verdict of 
"Not guilty." 

232. The question of the succession. James's two 
daughters were Protestants, and it is possible that the 
nation would have borne 
with the king much 
longer, had it not been 
that while the bishops 
were in the Tower, a 
son was born to him. 
That altered matters, 
for the boy would be 
brought up as a Roman 
Catholic, and there 
would be only a con- 
tinuation of the strug- 
gles of the last three 
years — for all these 
troubles had come to 

pass within that short time. The only thing to do was to 
appeal to James's oldest daughter Mary, who had married 
her cousin, William of Orange, to come to England and 
be queen. It was a hard position for Mary to be in, but 
no one could help seeing that if King James was left to 
run his own course, he would perhaps lose his head as 
well as his crown. 

233. The Revolution of 1688. The original plan 
was for Mary to be queen and her husband to act as 
prime minister, but she refused to agree to any such ar- 
rangement, and it was settled that they should rule 
together. This seemed an especially wise plan, for Wil* 




JAMES II. 



270 ENGLAND'S STORY [1688 

liam was the son of James's sister and, after the children 
of James, was the next heir to the kingdom. When 
William landed, James made a slight pretence of resist- 
ing, but soon fled, taking the great seal with him and 
flinging it into the Thames. No one tried to prevent him 
from going, and he made his way to France. The Eng- 
lish throne was then declared to be vacant, and William 
and Mary were crowned sovereigns of England. This 
act is called the "Revolution of 1688," and is perhaps 
the only great revolution in which no blood was shed. 
There were riots in London and considerable destruction 
of Roman Catholic property, but no person was injured. 
Judge Jeffreys was badly frightened, for he was without 
his royal protector and in the midst of thousands of 
people who hated him most bitterly. He disguised him- 
self and tried to escape, but he was carried to the Tower 
and there remained until he died. 

Two weeks after the landing of William, there was a 
great meeting of the prominent men of the kingdom at 
Nottingham, and they issued a paper that sounds much 
like the American Declaration of Independence of a cen- 
tury later, for it declares that to resist a tyrant is not 
rebellion, but a necessary defence. 

SUMMARY 

That " King Monmouth," with no hereditary claim to the 
throne, found any following was proof of the growing deter- 
mination of England to have a Protestant sovereign. Kirke 
and Jeffreys visited a stern revenge upon Monmouth's sup- 
porters. James, under a pretence of liberality, did all in his 
power to restore the Roman Catholic Church in England. 
He declared that Roman Catholics and Protestants should 
have religious freedom, and required all clergymen to read in 
their churches a proclamation to this effect, contrary as it was 



1688] THE HOUSE OF STUART 271 

to the laws of the land. Seven bishops refused and were 
sent to the Tower. 

The birth of a prince, who would be brought up as a Roman 
Catholic aroused the country to irn^ie James's Protestant 
daughter Mary and her husband, William of Orange, to be- 
come its sovereigns. 



28. William and Mary. 1 688-1 702 

234. Limitations of the royal power. Perhaps the 
strongest wish of the majority of the English people in 
regard to their ruler 
was to feel that they 
had a government that 
could be depended 
upon, and that would 
not be overthrown by 
the whim of whoever 
might chance to wear 
the crown. England 
was fortunate in that 
she had at last a sov- 
ereign who was as 
eager as his people to 
have a just and stable 
government and to 
make laws that would 
be for the good of the 
land. 

A few months after 
William landed, he signed a " Bill of Rights " presented 
to him by Parliament that settled several of the difficult 
questions. The object of this bill was to limit the power 
of the sovereign. One article declared that the king 
should have no standing army, and should impose no 




WILLIAM III 



272 ENGLAND'S STORY [1688 

taxes without the consent of Parliament. Another said 
that he must not interfere with the execution of the 
laws ; another, that he must call Parliament often, and 
that members should be free to discuss matters as they 
chose ; another, that as England was a Protestant coun- 
try, the ruler should be neither a Roman Catholic nor 
the husband or wife of a Roman Catholic. 

235. Increase of liberty. The king's power was de- 
creasing and the people's power was increasing. Perhaps 
no one thing was more favorable to the strength of the 
people than the freedom that was now given to print 
more nearly what any one chose. Before this no one 
had been allowed to print anything without the permis- 
sion of the government inspector, and now, if an editor 
printed any of the speeches made in Parliament, he was 
in danger of being fined or imprisoned ; but even this 
partial freedom was a long step in the right direction. 

An important question was how much liberty to allow 
to the various churches. At length a law was made 
which granted freedom to nearly all except Roman 
Catholics. Unfair as this was to one church, it was at 
least somewhat consistent with the general government, 
since that had declared that henceforth England was to 
be a Protestant kingdom ; and at worst, the whole nation 
knew exactly where the government stood, and that 
there would be no pretence of general liberality when the 
real intention was to favor only one church. William 
had come from a land where people were free to believe 
as they would. When he was proclaimed king of Scot- 
land, the usual oath was presented to him, that he " would 
be careful to root out all heretics and enemies to the true 
worship of God." As he repeated it, he said gravely, "I 
do not mean by these words that I am under any obliga- 
tion to be a persecutor ; " and although some very strict 



1689] 



THE HOUSE OF STUART 



273 



laws were made against the Roman Catholics, his influ- 
ence was always against the execution of the laws, and 
that could not fail to better matters in some degree. 

236. Opposing parties. It could not be expected 
that everybody in England would be delighted to have 
one king sent away 
and another put on 
the throne, and 
there were two 
classes of people 
that were espe- 
cially opposed to 
the course taken 
by the country. 
The leaders of one 
party were five cf 
the seven bishops 
that James had 
sent to the Tower 
for refusing to read 
his proclamation, 
and with them 
were several hun- 
dred other cler- 
gymen. These 
bishops believed in the " divine right of kings " enough 
to think that Parliament ought not to change the order of 
succession, but not enough to be sure that whatever this 
"divinely appointed " king chose to do was right. They 
were honest in their belief, and gave up their « Non _ 
churches rather than take the oath of allegiance J™o»" 
to William as their lawful king ; and it was for this re- 
fusal to swear that they were called " non-jurors." In 
the times of Henry VIII. they would have lost their 




QUEEN MARY IT. 



274 ENGLAND'S STORY [1689 

heads for treason, but England was becoming more 

liberal. 

The other class of people that were opposed to William 

were called Jacobites, from Jacobus, the Latin word for 

James. Some of them firmly believed that James 
Jacobites. J . J , . 

ought to be on the throne ; and some merely 

thought it quite possible that he might succeed in coming 

to power again, and wished to stand well with him if 

such should be the case. The result of this opposition 

was that William had little sincere, hearty support ; and 

if he had not been strong and wise and upright in his 

intention to do his best for the land which he had been 

asked to govern, one can hardly guess what misfortunes 

would have come to England during those last years of 

the seventeenth century. 

237. James tries to regain the throne. The Jaco- 
bites were more numerous in Ireland and in Scotland 
than in England. James knew that for him to land in 
England and try to regain the crown was hopeless, but 
he fancied that he could go to Ireland and then to Scot- 
land, for he felt sure that in those countries there were 
many who would support him, and he trusted that after 
his rule had been established in these two lands, he would 
be strong enough to venture to come to England. 

There were two things that Ireland had long wanted 
with all her heart. One was a free Parliament of her 
Feelings oi own > an d the other was the establishment of the 
the Irish. Roman Catholic church. For a promise of 
these she had offered her support to Charles I. in the 
times of the civil war, and for this support the Irish had 
been mercilessly punished by Cromwell. Slaughter had 
followed slaughter, until one can hardly wonder that to 
the Irish the name of Puritan was synonymous with atro- 
cious cruelty; and Cromwell's attempt to drive all the 



1689] THE HOUSE OF STUART 275 

Irish to the west and leave the more cultivated parts of 
the land to the English settlers could do no less than 
arouse a deadly hatred to all Protestant rule. When 
James came to the throne, the Irish felt that he would be 
their friend because he was a Roman Catholic ; but he 
had made almost as much trouble by his friendship as 
any preceding king had made by his cruelty, for he had 
snatched all power from the English whose homes were 
in Ireland and had given it into the hands of the Irish. 
There could have been no action better adapted to arouse 
hatred between the two classes of dwellers in Ireland. 
In his wish to regain his former position, James, remem- 
bering only that the Irish were in power and that an 
unpopular Protestant king was on the throne, had no 
doubt that an exiled sovereign, who was a Roman Catho- 
lic and the heir of Charles II., would find in Ireland firm 
friends and strong supporters. 

He landed with troops that Louis XIV. had loaned 
him, and he was delighted to find that he was received 
with a generous amount of cheering and many flowers 
and decorations. He did not realize that this enthusiasm 
did not signify devotion to his cause, but rather an eager 
hope that by supporting him Ireland might weaken 
William, and so win her freedom. 

In northern Ireland the English and Scotch settlers on 

the land that had been stolen from the Irish owners were 

attacked. Many of them withdrew to the towns, „, 

J . / Siege of 

especially to Londonderry, which was well forti- London- 
fied. King James's soldiers were about to 
march in, and as the governor was a Roman Catholic, 
there would probably have been little opposition ; but 
thirteen young boys, apprentices, took matters into their 
own hands, it is said, and shut the gates. 

Then began a terrible siege, lasting for more than three 



276 ENGLAND'S STORY [1689 

months. There was firing night and day. Several thou- 
sand people were shut up in this town, and they were 
starving. A pound of tallow was worth four shillings, a 
rat one shilling. A little fish from the river was not 
for sale for money, but could be exchanged for meal — if 
any one had meal to offer. Three thousand people had 
already perished ; must they surrender ? " Never," cried 
a clergyman named George Walker, who was now acting 
as governor, and straight into the pulpit he went and held 
up the open Bible before them. " It is for this that you 
are fighting," said he. "It is God's battle, and He will 
deliver you." 

A little boy, too young to be suspected, had been sent 
to the town by the English with a letter in a button to 
say that help was coming ; but no help came. At last, 
only one hour after the sermon, away down the river the 
famished watchers could see the English ships. On board 
were troops and arms and food and friends. They come 
nearer. Shot after shot is fired. They return the fire 
and sail on. Across the river is a heavy boom of logs 
and chains and great cables. There is no hope. Yes, 
the first ship has dashed at the boom fearlessly and has 
broken it. Up the river come the three, and the heroes 
of Londonderry who yet live are saved. 

The next year William was needed in England and in 

Scotland, but he felt that he was needed most in Ireland, 

so he chose nine men to help his wife in governing the 

kingdom and went to Ireland. Then came the 
Battle of & 

theBoyne. battle of the Boyne, in which William took com- 

1690 

mand of the English forces, and James, at a 
comfortable distance, watched the Irish fight for him and 
his crown. When he saw that his troops were losing, he 
went to a place of safety in Dublin as fast as he could 
gallop, and told the magistrates that he had always heard 



1690] 



THE HOUSE OF STUART 



277 



that the Irish were worthless soldiers. "Never again 
will I lead an Irish army," said this ungrateful king. It 
is no wonder that an Irishman called out to one of 




WILLIAM CROSSING THE BOYNE 



William's men, " Change kings with us, and we will fight 
you again." 

The Irish were promised that if they would submit, 
they should have more liberty ; but when the English 
settlers in Ireland were again in full power, the Irish 
were persecuted and fined, and their lands were con- 
fiscated. This outrageous treatment was begun very 
soon, but the worst of it was carried on after the reign 
of William was ended. 

238. Louis tries to invade England. When William 
went to Ireland, he well knew that there was great danger 
of trouble in England. Louis XIV. had long been trying 
to conquer Holland, and now to have William of Orange 
not only oppose him successfully in Holland but also rule 
the kingdom of England to the loss of his friend James, 



278 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1690- 1 692 



was more than he could endure ; and while William was 
in Ireland, Louis sent a fleet to attack England. This 
was the best thing that could have happened, for the 
strongest English supporters of James would not look 
on calmly to see their country invaded by foreigners. 
Moreover, Queen Mary was greatly loved by her subjects, 
and people of all parties were ready to second her ener- 
getic defence of their land. The whole country arose, 
and the French commander saw that he must return 
to France. In memory of the occurrence a medal was 
struck, and on it was depicted Mary in her royal robes 
and crown advancing to the seashore. In her hand was 
the trident of Neptune, and in the distance were the 
retreating ships of the French. Louis tried once more, 
and trusted that his bribes had won over the English 
admiral to a treacherous surrender ; but when the test 
really came, the admiral could not make up his mind 
to be a traitor, and he attacked and destroyed the greater 




MEDAL TO COMMEMORATE MARY'S REPULSE OF LOUIS XIV. 

part of the French fleet off La Hogue. After this, Louis 
submitted sufficiently to sign a treaty and acknowledge 
that William was rightfully king of England. He kept 
the peace for four years, and possibly this is as much as 
could have been expected of him. 



1688-1694] THE HOUSE OF STUART 279 

239. Feeling toward William and Mary. William's 
life in England was not pleasant, and it may be that the 
secret of much of the discomfort he had to meet was that 
his manner was cold and reserved. The English were 
used to the gay, off-hand familiarity of the Stuarts, and 
the coldness of the king — which often resulted from 
shyness and sensitiveness' — they thought meant dislike. 
He was neither fascinating in his manner nor handsome, 
and he knew English so imperfectly that he wrote his 
speech to Parliament in French. Charles had always 
had a jest and a merry retort, but William was serious 
and slow to speak. The English were ready to criticise 
whatever William did, and when he gave valuable posi- 
tions' in England to his Dutch friends, they did not stop 
to think of the many thousands of pounds that the Stuarts 
had lavished upon their amusements and their worthless 
favorites. It is true that William did not like England. 
He said once that he wished he was a thousand miles 
away from it and had never seen it. His subjects were 
indignant, but when he suggested that he was quite ready 
to resign the crown and return to Holland, the English 
became very loyal, for they could not help seeing that it 
was a great thing for them to have a brave, wise king 
whose first aim was not to amuse himself, or to force 
any church upon them, but who wished simply to do his 
very best for the country that he had been asked to 
rule. 

The English people were fond of Mary. She was 
gentle and kind, and as eager to do well by them as her 
husband was. William was heartbroken when she died, 
for she seems to have been the only person in the world 
who really understood and appreciated this silent, un- 
demonstrative man. He went on conscientiously to the 
end of his reign. He was never popular, and the English 



28o ENGLAND'S STORY [1702 

never forgot that he was a foreigner, but the worst charge 
that can be brought against him is that he was not severe 
enough in punishing one or two cruel deeds that his 
officers committed in his name. 

240. Succession to the throne. William died in 
1702 from the stumbling of his horse over a molehill. 
James had died a few months before, but his son, James 
Edward, was now a young man of fifteen, and those who 
had supported his father were eager to have him for 
their king, and they used to drink to the health of the 
mole, "the little gentleman in black velvet," as they 
called him, that had caused the death of William. 

Parliament had decreed that if William and Mary left 
no children, Anne, sister of Mary, should become queen ; 
but Louis XIV. paid no attention to this, and he forgot 
all about the treaty by which he had acknowledged that 
William was the rightful king. As soon as James died, 
Louis proclaimed James Edward sovereign of England. 

SUMMARY 

England had at last a king who wished to make laws for 
the good of the land, even though they lessened his own 
power. Increased religious liberty was granted, and more 
freedom was given to the press. Nevertheless, there was 
opposition to William's rule by the " non-jurors " and the 
Jacobites. James, assisted by Louis XIV., attempted to re- 
gain the crown by promising Ireland a free Parliament and 
the establishment of the Roman Catholic Church, but failed. 
Louis XIV. attempted to invade England, but the loyalty 
which the expected attack called forth did much to support 
the ruling sovereign. 



1702] 



THE HOUSE OF STUART 



281 



29. Anne. 1 702-1 714 
241, Brilliant reign of Queen Anne. For nine hun- 
dred years England had been a monarchy. She had had 
sovereigns that were unwise, ignorant, passionate, but 
never before had she 
been ruled by a mon- 
arch who was quite so 
slow and dull as this 
"good Queen Anne;" 
and yet the twelve years 
of Anne's sovereignty 
formed one of the most 
interesting periods in 
literature and one of the 
most brilliant in mili- 
tary success that have 
ever occurred in the his- 
tory of England. 

242. The age of 
prose. In Elizabeth's 
time men were aroused 
and excited by the 
great events and dis- 
coveries of the day. Their imagination was stimulated, 
and they wrote much poetry. Between the age of 
Elizabeth and the age of Anne, poetry had gradually 
lost its first free inspiration. Authors were forced to 
depend upon the patronage of some man of wealth and 
position, so that the personal character of the king was 
an important matter in the development of literature. 
The dissoluteness of James I., the falseness of Charles I., 
the narrowness of the Puritan outlook, the reckless im- 
morality of Charles II., and the struggle for Protestant- 




QUEEN ANNE 



282 ENGLAND'S STORY [1702-1714 

ism during the last years of the century, were not influ- 
ences that would encourage a free, unrestrained poetical 
expression. Men wrote of philosophy, politics, natural 
science, and religion. The loss of poetry was the gain 
of prose. 

In Anne's day there was far less that was exciting and 
inspiring than in the reign of Elizabeth, and people wrote 
little poetry that seems really noble and great, but the 
ability to write prose had been developing, and the prose 
of this period is so graceful and musical, and so sure to 
use the right word for the thought, that even after these 
two hundred years it is as great a pleasure to read it as 
-^ „„ it was in Queen Anne's time. Some of the 

The " Spec- 

tator." best of it is found in Addison's articles in the 

1711 

" Spectator." This paper made no attempt to 
tell the news of the day, but presented brilliant essays 
that jested good-humoredly at the faults of the times, 
and interesting sketches of what was going on in the 
busy English world. Many numbers were written by 
Addison alone. 

The works of Alexander Pope well represent the 
poetry of the age. His ideas were keen and sensible and 

well expressed, and his couplets are, therefore, 
of Anne's so often quoted that no one can read his poems 

without finding many familiar lines ; and yet 
the poetry of the time does not make us feel as if the 
writer w r as so full of lofty and beautiful thoughts that he 
could not. help writing, but rather as if he had tried his 
best to put every thought that he did have in the words 
that would express it most exactly. One reason for this 
carefulness is that with the return of" Charles II. from 
France, the English became more interested in French 
literature, and the French were aiming especially at 
making every line smooth and exact and nicely finished. 



<7o7] 



THE HOUSE OF STUART 



283 



243. Union between England and Scotland. 1707. 
Peopie printed very nearly what they would. If they 
wrote against the government, they might get into 
trouble, but at worst the penalties were generally fines 
or imprisonments ; and men were free to discuss what 
they chose. It became a custom to meet in the coffee- 
houses to talk over the literary and political events of 






ENGLISH FLAG 



UNION JACK OF 1707 



SCOTTISH FLAG 



the day. One interesting subject which everybody was 
discussing was whether England and Scotland should be 
united. Since the reign of James I., one hundred years 
before, the two countries had had one king, but two par- 
liaments and different laws. When the Scotch wished 
to sell goods in England or in the English colonies, they 
had to pay duties just as if they had no connection with 
England. If the two countries should be united, there 
would be no more duties. On the other hand, Scotland 
had never forgotten that the Stuarts were Scotch, and 
over in France was the young James Edward Stuart all 
ready to take the throne, and England was afraid that 
when Anne died, the Scotch would proclaim him as their 
king. The result was that in 1707 the two countries 
were united under the name of Great Britain. The Brit- 



284 ENGLAND'S STORY [1702-1707 

ish flag, the Union Jack, was then formally adopted, 
though it had been used more or less ever since the reign 
of James I. He used to sign his name "Jacques," the 
French word for James, and this is why the flag is called 
the Union Jack. It combined the red upright cross of 
Saint George, the patron saint of England, and the white 
cross of Saint Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland 
Many of the Scotch were never reconciled to this union, 
and one of the songs of the day said : — 

" What force or guile could not subdue 

Through many warlike ages, 
Is wrought now by a coward few 

For hireling traitors' wages. 
The English steel we could disdain, 

Secure in valor's station ; 
But English gold has been our bane} 

Such a parcel of rogues in a nation ! " 

244. Queen Anne's War. Just across the Channel 
trouble was arising for England. The grandson of Louis 
XIV. had been offered the throne of Spain ; and if Spain 
should support France, Louis would be strong enough 
to put James Edward on the English throne and to seize 
Holland, which was a valuable ally of England. A war 
followed, which was called in England the War of the 
Spanish Succession ; but in America the colonists, who 
fought just because England and Spain were fighting, 
called it simply Queen Anne's War. 

The greatest commander in England was the Duke of 

Marlborough, who had worked his way up to his high 

-^ „ , position. He was a brilliant, fascinating, lov- 
TheDuke r ' b7 

of Marl- able man, but he cared so much for money that 
oroug . ^ ^ nne k ac j not Deen a bi e ^0 reward him more 

lavishly than could James Edward, he would have been 
as false to her as he was to James Edward's father and 
also to William. This famous general was at the head of 



704-17133 



THE HOUSE OF STUART 



285 




JOHN CHURCHILL, DUKE OF MARL- 
BOROUGH 



the English land forces, 
and before long he gained 
so great a victory over 
Louis at Blenheim, a lit- 
tle village in Bavaria, that 
the English could not do 
enough for him. One gift 
that they made him was 
a palace with grounds 
twelve miles in circum- 
ference ; and that the 
victory might never be 
forgotten, they named 
the place Blenheim. All 
through the battle the 
duke's little dog had kept 

at his master's heels, and it is said that a descendant of 
this dog is presented to every Marlborough bride when 
she first enters the door of the palace. 

Although Louis had met with such defeats, the war 
was not ended by any means. Sir Cloudesley Captureof 
Shovel, who was at the head of the navy, Gibraltar. 

• 1704 

captured Gibraltar, and the duke went on win- 
ning victory after victory. 

245. The queen's friends. A treaty was signed 
much sooner than it otherwise would have been because 
Queen Anne and the Duchess of Marlborough had a 
quarrel. For many years the queen had done just as 
the duchess ordered in great matters as well as small. 
The name of the duchess was Sarah, and people used to 
say, " Queen Anne reigns, but Queen Sarah rules." 
They wrote to each other almost every day. They 
dropped their titles and took feigned names, as children 
often do. The duchess was "Mrs. Freeman," and the 



286 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



L1710 



queen was "Mrs. Morley." After the war had gone on 
for several years, these two devoted friends had a quar- 
rel. Anne was as obstinate as weak people usually are, 

and refused to 
" make up ; " but 
she could not 
be happy without 
some one to think 
for her and tell 
her what to do, 
so she took a 
new favorite, — 
a Mrs. Masham. 
Mrs. Masham was 
eager to have the 
war end so that 
the duke would 
not gain any more 
glory or fill his 
pockets any fuller, 
and it was because 
of her influence 
over the queen that the fighting ceased. 

England never gave up Gibraltar, and by the treaty 
she made great gains in America, for not only Nova 
Scotia and Newfoundland, but the wide expanse of 
country about Hudson Bay, fell into her hands. 

246. The last Stuart sovereign. Anne was the last 
of the Stuarts to wear the English crown. Her half- 
brother, James Edward, still lived, and it is quite possible 
that he might have been made king of England, if he 
had been willing to become a Protestant. Anne's chil- 
dren had all died, and the crown went, as Parliament had 
decided some years before, to a German prince called 




SARAH, DUCHESS OF MARLBOROUGH 



£7i 4 ] THE HOUSE OF STUART 287 

George, Elector of Hanover, who was a descendant of a 
sister of Charles I, England had had a Norman king 
and a Dutch king ; now she was to be ruled by a Ger- 
man. 

SUMMARY 

Queen Anne's reign is famous for the excellence of its 
prose literature and for its foreign victories. To prevent an 
alliance between France and Spain and to protect her Amer- 
ican possessions, England declared war against Louis XIV. 
Under the Duke of Marlborough there were brilliant victories 
on land, and under Sir Cloudesley Shovel the strong fortress 
of Gibraltar was taken. By the treaty that closed the war, 
England gained in America Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and 
a vast area of land about Hudson Bay. Scotland and Eng- 
land were united, though the union was not heartily desired 
by either country. 



288 



ENGLAND'S STORY 






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1°§ 



CHAPTER VIII 



THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 



1714- 

30. George I. 1 714-1727 

247. A king who ruled easily. When George I. 
came to the throne, he could not speak a word of the 
language of the land that he had come to govern. He 
did not think that it 
was worth while to 
try to learn it, and 
therefore he and 
his ministers stam- 
mered on as well 
as they could in 
the best Latin that 
they could muster. 
George did not like 
to be bored by mat- 
ters of government, 
and as he did not 
know enough of the 
prominent men of 
England to select GEORGEI . 

his own cabinet, he 

had a prime minister to do it for him. He did not find 
it difficult to rule a country, he simply signed whatever 
bill Parliament presented. The rest of his time he 
spent in eating, drinking, smoking, playing cards, and 




290 ENGLAND'S STORY [1715 

being amused in a slow, cumbersome fashion at what- 
ever jests any one would take the trouble to explain to 
him. He seemed so bored by his new sovereignty that 
James Edward and his friends fancied that the king 
might be glad to be relieved of his crown, and actually 
ventured to write him a letter inquiring whether he 
wou]d not like to resign in favor of James. 

248. Dissatisfaction. There was a reason why many 
in England were feeling dissatisfied. People had gradu- 
wwgsand a ^Y become divided into Whigs and Tories. 
Tories. The Whigs favored increasing the power of the 
people ; the Tories, that of the king and the church. The 
coming of George had been brought about by the Whigs ; 
and he agreed to whatever they wished to do. Naturally, 
the Tories were not contented to have no share in the 
government. Moreover, whatever there was left in Eng- 
land of the notion of the " divine right " of a king was in 
the minds of these Tories, and they had never quite for- 
gotten that the heir to the king who had been driven 
from his throne was just across the Channel. 

249. Attempts of the Pretender. For these two 
reasons, the feeling that George did not care enough for 
his throne to fight for it, and the dissatisfaction of the 
Tories, who were shut out from any share in the govern- 
ment, James Edward, the " Pretender," thought it a 
good time to try to regain the lost crown ; and so it 
came about that in Scotland one Monday morning the 
drums beat and the bagpipes played, and a long paper 
was read declaring that "James VIII." was "by the 
grace of God King of Scotland, England, France, and 
Ireland." Battles followed ; one was indecisive and 
one resulted in a surrender. Still James Edward hoped, 
and he hurried over to Scotland with only six followers. 
Unfortunately for his cause, the more people saw of him. 



715] 



THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 



291 




the less enthusiasm they felt. He 
was heavy and slow, and seemed to 
have no interest in the men who were 
risking so much in their eagerness 
to support him. He was particular 
to demand as many attendants as 
if he had been really king, and he 
roused himself enough to name a 
day for his coronation, but that was 
all. When King George's forces 
were upon them, the courageous 
Scotchmen wished to put James 
Edward in the midst of his support- 
ers and fight till the last man fell ; costume of gentleman, 
but their proclaimed king preferred 
not to fight ; and he quietly sailed away to France, leav- 
ing his brave friends to manage as best they could. 

There were great efforts made to rescue the leaders of 
this conspiracy from the sentence of the courts. The 
wife of one of those who had been condemned _ , 

Treatment 

to die contrived to gain access to King George of the con- 
to beg his mercy for her husband. She caught sp ra 
hold of the skirt of his coat, and the stout old king 
dragged her half-way across the room, while she struggled 
to put her petition into his pocket. That attempt was 
not a success, but she did contrive to smuggle a suit of 
women's clothes into her husband's cell, and he slipped 
away. The government seemed not at all unwilling that 
the captives should escape, and apparently took little 
pains to guard them. A number of prisoners had been 
taken from Scotland for trial, though the Scotch con- 
tended that they ought to be tried where the offense 
had been committed. The English would not yield the 
point, but in order not to put too great a strain upon 



292 ENGLAND'S STORY [1720 

the new union between the two countries, the courts 
were careful to pronounce no sentence of capital punish- 
ment upon these men. No such consideration was shown 
for Ireland, and a bill was passed at about this time de- 
claring that the English Parliament had the right to make 
laws for that country. Not many years later, Roman 
Catholics were forbidden to become members of the 
Irish Parliament. This meant that five-sixths of the in- 
habitants of Ireland had no representation whatever. 

250. The South Sea Bubble. The reign of George I. 
is always associated with a financial scheme that — after 
it failed — was called the South Sea Bubble, and that 
resulted in ruin to many thousand Englishmen. This is 
the way that it came about. The South Sea Company 
had special privileges of trade in the southern oceans, 
and the members had become immensely rich. Eng- 
land had a large national debt, and its bonds were held 
chiefly by Englishmen. This South Sea Company now 
said to the government : — 

" We will give you seven and one half million pounds 
if you will persuade people to exchange your bonds for 
ours ; and we shall be satisfied with a smaller rate of 
interest than you have been paying these people. We 
can afford to do this because it will be worth so much to 
us to have a regular income from you, even if it is not a 
large one ; and we can then increase our trade so that we 
can pay large dividends to those who have given up your 
bonds for ours." 

This looked well on paper, and soon the stock sold for 
ten times what it was worth. Then came the sudden 
The bubble collapse, and people who had paid ten times its 
breaks. value lost nine tenths of their money. The 
government officials, with the exception of Sir Robert 
Walpole, had encouraged the scheme, and the losers 



1720-1727] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 293 

were angry with them. This was hardly fair, for it was 
a time when everybody seemed to be wild to make all 
sorts of foolish investments. People were ready to put 
their money into anything. One man is said to have 
advertised that he knew of a good scheme for making a 
fortune, and that if people would give him their money to 
invest, he would tell them later what the scheme was. 
In one forenoon 
he actually took 
in two thousand 
pounds. 

251. Origin of 
some customs 
of government. 
As Walpole was 
the most pro- 
minent one of 
those that had op- 
posed the South 
Sea Bubble, peo- 
ple began to feel 
much confidence 
in him. He was 
really the ruler 
of England for 
some years, and 
it is in great de- 
gree according 

to his arrangement that the government of that country 
is in many of its details carried on to-day. For a long 
time, whoever ruled England had been accustomed to 
select a little group of special advisers that had re- 
ceived the name of cabinet, because they met in a small 
room, or cabinet, instead of in the large council cham- 




SIR ROBERT WALPOLE 



294 ENGLAND'S STORY £i 720-1738 

ber. George I. knew so little of England and her states- 
men that the selection cf the royal cabinet was left 
to Walpole ; and as the king understood no English, he 
did not attend their meetings. That is why to-day the 
prime minister selects the cabinet and the king does not 
meet with them. The prime minister chooses men with 
whose ideas the House of Commons will be likely to 
agree ; but if the House should refuse to support the 
cabinet in any important measure, the sovereign may 
either dissolve Parliament in the expectation that a new 
election will bring in men who will be in harmony with 
the cabinet, or he may choose a new prime minister from 
among those that oppose the present cabinet. The 
result of this plan is that no man can remain prime min- 
ister if the House of Commons disapproves of his policy. 

SUMMARY 

The lax rule of George I. gave all power into the hands of 
the Whigs, and left Sir Robert Walpole free to introduce 
many forms and details of government that have remained in 
force for nearly two centuries. Encouraged by the discontent 
of the Tories, the Scotch friends of the Pretender made an 
unsuccessful effort in his behalf. About the middle of the 
reign, a frenzy for foolish investments swept over the land. 
The failure of these, and especially of the South Sea Bubble, 
reduced large numbers to poverty. 

31. George II. 1 727-1 760 

252. Rise of Methodism. One important event of 
the early part of this reign was the rise of Methodism. 
The masses of the people, especially in the large cities, 
were ignorant and degraded, and neither state nor church 
seemed to realize that they needed help. Cock-fighting 
and bull-baiting were their favorite amusements, drunken* 



*738] 



THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 



295 




JOHN WESLEY 



ness was their delight. Nor 
was this state of things 
limited to those who were 
otherwise degraded. Some 
of the most prominent men 
of the nation felt that at a 
banquet it was not showing 
a proper appreciation of the 
hospitality of their host if 
they did not drink of his 
wines until they could no 
longer sit upright in their 
chairs. 

It was certainly time for something to arouse the 
country, and the awakening came by the efforts of John 
Wesley and a few other men. They were nicknamed 
Methodists because they lived so methodically and met 
so regularly for prayer and preaching. John Wesley 
and his brother Charles and another clergyman named 
Whitefield went over the land on horseback and preached 
wherever any one would listen. The result of this small 
beginning was that many thousands in both England and 
America began to see that there was something better in 
life than the carelessness or coarse ignorance in which 
they had lived. 

253. Walpole and the king. The kings of the House 
of Hanover were always at odds with the next heir to the 
throne. So far as the peace of England was concerned, 
that was not so bad a condition of affairs, since, if the 
king was a Whig, the eldest son was reasonably sure to 
be a Tory; and while the Whigs were happy because 
they were in power, the Tories v/ere content to wait in 
the certainty that their turn would come. George I. and 
his wife really seemed to hate the Prince of Wales, and 



296 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[174* 



the prince was so opposed to his father that when he him 
self became king, every one expected that Walpole would 
be turned out of office. This would surely have been 
the case had not Queen Caroline favored his remaining. 
George II. would often refuse to hear a word from the 
prime minister about some subject upon which they dif- 
fered, but Walpole would take it all serenely and explain 
to the queen what was best for the king to do. " And 
when I give her her lesson," said Walpole, "she can 
make him propose the very thing as his own opinion 
which a week before he had rejected as mine." 

254. War of the Austrian succession. The subject 
on which Walpole and the king most frequently differed 
was that of war, for George II. was an excellent soldier, 
and was eager to win military glory. Walpole always 
favored peace, and for twelve years he managed to pre- 
vent the king from 
fighting. At last, 
after fifteen years of 
service, Walpole was 
removed from office. 
There was now no 
influence to keep the 
king from warfare, 
and George felt that 
there was good rea- 
son for drawing his 
sword. Maria The- 
resa, daughter of the 
emperor of Germany, 
had succeeded to the 
throne of Austria. 
France, supported by 
GEORGE 11. several other coun- 




I743-W5] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 297 

tries, attempted to seize portions of the Austrian terri- 
tories. England preferred to have Austria stronger than 
France, and therefore upheld the rights of Maria Theresa. 
War ensued. George went to Bavaria, where the fighting 
was likely to be, and at the battle of Dettingen he led 
his own soldiers. He could talk English, if his La tfl M 
father could not, and he sprang from his horse ingoian 
and cried to his troops, "Now, boys, now for king. 8 
the honor of England ; be brave, and the French 1743, 
will run." The French did run, and this was the last 
time that an English king appeared on the battlefield. 

Europe called this contest the War of the Austrian 
Succession, but the Americans called it King George's 
War. Of course, the American colonists fought, English 
against French, and just as fiercely as if it made any great 
difference to them who sat on the throne of Austria. 
The most famous action in America was the cap- capture of 
ture of a strong fortress on Cape Breton Island, Louisburg. 
named Louisburg. The soldiers were chiefly men from 
New England who did not know a great deal about be- 
sieging forts, and were a little inclined to make fun of the 
military discipline and manoeuvring. Nevertheless, they 
took the fort, but when people saw its thick walls and its 
powerful defences, every one wondered how the deed 
had been done. The New Englanders were proud of 
this exploit, as well they might have been ; and they were 
decidedly indignant when by the treaty that closed the 
war, Louisburg was given back to France. 

255. Last effort of the Stuarts. Walpole had 
always said that whenever England went to war with 
France, there would be an attempt made to restore the 
Stuarts to their throne, and this came to pass before the 
War of the Austrian Succession was ended. Many a 
Scotchman was singing : — 



298 ENGLAND'S STORY [1 745-1 746 

a I swear by moon and stars sae bright, 
And the sun that glances early, 
If I had twenty thousand lives, 
I 'd gie them a' for Charlie. 
We '11 over the water and over the sea, 
We '11 over the water to Charlie ; 
Come weel, come woe, we'll gather and go, 
And live and die wi' Charlie." l 

James Edward did not attempt to come again, but his 

son, Charles Edward, who is called both " Prince 
The 

"Young Charlie" and the "Young Pretender," came 
Pretender." Qver t ^ e gea j n ^ father's behalf with only 

seven companions and landed in the north of Scotland. 

His first shelter was the house of a Highlander. Prince 
Charlie was accustomed to the luxury of a chimney, and 
the peat-smoke, which had no outlet but the hole in the 
roof, was suffocating to him, and when he had borne it as 
long as he could, he would slip out into the open air. 
Finally the host, not knowing who was his guest, ex- 
claimed, " What is the matter with the fellow that he 
can't stay in the house or out of it ? " The prince's first 
adviser told him he would better go home. " I am come 
home," said he cheerfully, and he set to work to regain 
for his father the crown that James II. had lost. At 
first fortune favored him, and his Scotch friends sang:— 

" Oh, he 's been lang o' coming, 
Lang, lang, lang o' coming; 
Oh, he 's been lang o' coming ; 
Welcome, royal Charlie." 2 

This success did not last long, for a terrible battle 
was fought at Culloden, and Prince Charlie had to flee. 
A reward of thirty thousand pounds was offered for his 

1 From Hogg's Jacobite Relics. 

9 From Peter Buchan's Prince Charlie and Flora Macdonald, 



1746-1756J THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 



299 



capture, but by the aid of a faithful Highland woman 
named Flora Macdonald, he succeeded after all cmioden. 
sorts of romantic adventures in reaching France 1746> 
in safety. This was the end of the Jacobite attempts to 
restore the crown to 



the Stuarts, and any 
stray enthusiasm 
that still exists in 
their behalf is mani- 
fested chiefly by lay- 
ing wreaths at the 
foot of the statue of 
Charles I. on Janu- 
ary 30, the anniver- 
sary of his execution ; 
for the people of 
England as a whole 
were convinced once 
for all that it is bet- 
ter to have a sove- 
reign who rules for 
the good of the na- 
tion than one whose only claim is based upon a few more 
drops of the blood of some royal ancestor. 

256. The Seven Years' War. In spite of the peace- 
ful beginning of the reign of George II., there was war 
enough before its end to satisfy the most martial of 
sovereigns. Frederick the Great of Prussia had been a 
determined opponent of Maria Theresa in the War of 
the Austrian Succession, and she did her best to arouse 
France and several other countries to oppose him. 
George II. was afraid that his own Hanover would suffer, 
and therefore the English forces were drawn into what is 
known as the Seven Years' War. The chief gain to 




CHARLES EDWARD STUART (PRINCE CHARLIE) 



3oo 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1756-1758 



England was made in America, for as usual the colonists 
fought. The English were on one side, and the French, 
helped by the Indians, on the other. This is why the 
American colonists called the struggle the French and 
Indian War. 

The real point at issue in America was, who should 
have the country. The English had settled the eastern 
Who should coast an d were pushing on to the west; the 
French had begun at the Saint Lawrence and 
the Great Lakes and had built forts along the 
Ohio and the Mississippi. The first contest was at Fort 
Du Quesne. The English lost because General Braddock 



have 
America ? 




rTpThTIFv .^TT 




MALL IN ST. JAMES'S PARK IN 1738 
Showing the enormous hoopskirts then worn by ladies 



could not believe that the Indian way of fighting would 
be different from that of the English. Young George 
Washington saved the remnant of the English troops 
and afterwards took the fort. 



1756-1759] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 



301 



An especially pathetic event of the war was the driv- 
ing of several thousand French settlers from their homes 
in Acadia, or Nova Scotia. These settlers The story of 
claimed to be neutral, but England was con- Grand Pr6. 
vinced that they were helping the French ; and in Grand 
Pre, Annapolis, and other places the houses were burned, 
the cattle abandoned, 

, . , mi 

and the settlers them- 
selves put on board 
English vessels and 
scattered among the 
English colonies along 
the coast. By this 
means England won 
Nova Scotia, but it 
was at a fearful cost. 
There is a tradition 
that an Aca- » Eva nge- 
dian maiden line -" 
was separated from her 
betrothed lover, and 
that for years they 
wandered in search of each other, never meeting until 
the time of their youth was long past and the lover was 
nigh unto death. Longfellow tells the story in his 
beautiful poem "Evangeline." 

The greatest victory of the war was at Quebec, which 
was defended by the French under General Montcalm. 
Above the town was a cliff which the sentinels _ . . 

England 

guarded carelessly because the French did not takes Que- 
think that it could be climbed by an army. 
General Wolfe, the English commander, led his men up 
this cliff by night and captured the city. This con- 
quest gave England control of Canada, so that she came 




JAMES WOLFE 



302 ENGLAND'S STORY [1756-1759 

out of the war with Nova Scotia, Canada, and also Flor» 
ida, which fell into her hands by an arrangement between 
France and Spain. There was now no question that 
the whole continent from the Atlantic to the Mississippi 
River would belong to England. 

257. The English in India. While England was 
gaining an empire in America, a trading company was 
gaining one for her in India. This East India Company 
had been in existence for two hundred years, but it had 
merely established trading posts and had made no at- 
tempt to rule the country. The French, too, wished to 
trade in India, and they had also established posts ; but 
they had joined with some of the native princes in 
their opposition to the rule of the others, and it began 
to look as if the English company would be driven away. 
There was at first no good English leader, but soon one 
appeared, though from the desk of a clerk, the last place 
where one would look for a general. Young Robert Clive 
was employed by the company, and he persuaded them to 
let him try to repulse the French and their native allies. 
_ , He was successful, but not long afterwards, 

The Black . . & . 

Hole of Cai- while Clive was in England, the Prince of Ben- 
gal attacked Calcutta, captured the fort, and 
drove more than seven-score English into one small room. 
After the intense heat of an Indian night, there remained 
in the morning but twenty-three alive ; the others had 
died a most agonizing death from suffocation. This 
prison was called the " Black Hole of Calcutta." 

Clive returned. He must punish the Prince of Ben- 
gal, but the prince had twenty-five times as many men 
as he. Clive called a council of war, and the 
majority of the officers said that victory was 
impossible. So said the commander, but after an hour's 
thought, he changed his mind and gave orders for an 



1757] 



THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 



303 



attack in the morning. He was successful, and the Eng- 
lish rule in India was established. 

258. Unpopularity of the king. England appre- 
ciated the soldierly abilities of her king, and rejoiced in 
the vast amount of territory in both the Old World and 
the New that came under English rule while he was on 
the throne ; but he was never a popular sovereign, and 
he often seemed far more interested in the well-being of 
his little Hanover than in that of England. At a time 
when his English subjects were especially anxious to 
have him remain in 

their land, he went to 

Germany, and there he 

stayed for many months. 

Some one is said to have 

put a notice on the door 

of his palace : " Lost 

or strayed out of this 

house, a man who has 

left a wife and six chil- 

d r e n on the parish. 

Whoever will give any 

tidings of him to the 

church-wardens of Saint 

James's parish so as he 

may be got again, will 

receive four shillings and sixpence. N. B. This reward 

will not be increased, nobody judging him to deserve a 

crown." 

259. The novel of home life. Together with the 
gain in territory, there was also a gain in the literary 
world, for the novel of home life came into being. It is 
possible that all the foreign war that was going on made 
the English feel a deeper love for their own homes and 




ROBERT CLIVE 



304 ENGLAND'S STORY [1752 

the people about them. However that may be, it was in 
this reign that story-tellers began to describe everyday 
places and the thoughts and feelings of everyday people. 
Before this, writers had seemed to feel that no story 
could be interesting unless its scene was laid in " a 
country a long way off," or its characters went through 
a series of the most amazing adventures. Some of these 
novels are very long, and the story " moves " so slowly 
that our age finds them tedious, while, according to the 
present taste, others are vulgar in their incidents and 
coarse in their conversation. Nevertheless, it was a 
great gain to find that the thoughts and actions of people 
who were neither rich nor famous were yet full of 
interest. 

260. A new calendar, 1752. One peculiar fact about 
this reign is that it was really eleven days shorter than 
the dates of its beginning and end would seem to show. 
In reckoning time, the year had been made a little 
too long ; that is, the almanac year was a little longer 
than the sun's year, and when January 1, for instance, 
came around, the sun was a little farther ahead than it 
had been on the preceding January 1. In the course of 
centuries, that difference had amounted to about eleven 
days, and now England made the correction, and the day 
that would have been September 3, 1752, was called 
September 14. The Roman Catholic countries had 
made this change in Elizabeth's reign, but England did 
not wish to do anything that the pope had ordered, and 
so she had delayed. As it was, there was great opposi- 
tion, for many people felt that in some mysterious way 
they had been cheated out of those eleven days. Until 
then, the year had begun March 25, when the sun first 
came north of the equator, but after this the years were 
counted from January 1. 



1760] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 305 

SUMMARY 

By the efforts of Whitefleld and the Wesleys, Methodism 
caused a great religious awakening in both England and 
America. The influence of Sir Robert Walpole kept the land 
at peace for many years, but after his removal from office, 
George II. engaged in the War of the Austrian Succession 
to uphold the claims of Maria Theresa and prevent the power 
of France from increasing. During this war Charles Edward 
made an attempt to regain the English throne. His defeat 
at Culloden ended the efforts of the Stuarts to wear the 
crown of England. 

To protect Hanover, George II. engaged in the Seven 
Years' War. The result in America was that the continent, 
from the Atlantic to the Mississippi, fell into the hands of 
England. The French, allied with native princes, attempted 
to force the East India Company from India. By the mili- 
tary genius of Clive the company's rights were maintained, 
and India fell under English rule. 

In the literary world, the novel of home life first appeared. 
In 1752 England adopted the corrected calendar, and hence- 
forth the years began on the first of January. 

32. George III. 1 760-1 820 

261. George III. means to rule. As George I. was 
somewhat bored by wielding the sceptre and George II. 
was under the control of whoever had the tact to manage 
him, the power of the ministers, and in particular, those 
of the Whig party, had been on the increase for half a 
century. When George III. came to the throne, he was 
only twenty-two years of age, but he had one very dis- 
tinct idea in his mind, and that was that the king instead 
of his ministers should rule the land. 

So far there was nothing in his determination that was 
unlike the notions of the Stuarts ; but the difference 



306 ENGLAND'S STORY [1760-1765 

was that while the Stuarts wished to rule for themselves 
and their own gain, George III. was sincerely anxious to 
do what was for the gain of the country. He was a good, 

kind - hearted man, 
who always meant 
to do what was right. 
He was obstinate, 
but his obstinacy 
was not exactly wil- 
fulness ; it was ra- 
ther an inability to 
see that there was 
any other way than 
the one that he had 
chosen. 

262. Trouble 
with America. The 
first difficulty of his 
reign was with the 
English colonists in 
America. England, 
like other European 
countries, looked 
upon a colony not as a part of herself, but simply as a 
community forming a convenient market for the manu- 
factures of the mother country, and affording opportuni- 
ties for a favored few to make money. Laws had been 
passed forbidding the colonists to make anything for 
themselves and limiting their trade, each law so framed 
that it should be to the advantage of England, and with 
no thought for the good of the colonies. Matters were 
brought to a head by Parliament's passing the " Stamp 
Act," requiring a stamp, bought of England, to be placed 
on every book, legal paper, etc. Parliament said that as 




GEORGE III. 



1765] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 307 

by the French and Indian War the colonists had been 
freed from fear of the French, it was only fair for them 
to pay part of the expense of the war. The colonists felt 
that in men and in money they had given their full share, 
but their protest was not made for this reason ; it was 
made because, as they had no representatives in Parlia- 
ment, this requirement of a stamp would be taxation 
without representation, and this, they said, was not ac- 
cording to the law of England. 

There were strong sympathizers even in Parliament. 
William Pitt, who had formerly been prime minister, 
appeared in the House of Commons wrapped in English 
flannels and leaning upon a crutch. He told sympathy, 
the members plainly that the Americans were right, and 
that the only course was to repeal the act. Edmund 
Burke would not enter into the rights of the question, 
but in a most eloquent speech he made clear what the 
result of this foolish treatment of the colonies would be. 
Benjamin Franklin had been sent to England to speak 
for the colonists, and the House had asked him many 
questions. 

"Will the Americans pay the stamp duty if it is mode- 
rated ? " they asked. 

" Never," said Franklin, " unless they are driven to it 
by force of arms." 

" Why do they pay duties on imported goods and refuse 
to pay for stamps ? " asked the House. 

" Because they can use or not use imported articles as 
they will ; but the stamps are forced upon them," an- 
swered Franklin. 

"Are they not obliged to use our manufactures?" 

"No," said Franklin. "They are wearing your cloth 
now, but before their old clothes are worn out, they can 
make clothes for themselves." 



3o8 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[i 766-1 77a 



" Can they raise wool enough ? " 

"Certainly," replied Franklin. "They have already 
agreed to use no more lambs for food, and they can spin 
and weave in their own houses." 

" If this special act is given up, will they acknowledge 
that Parliament has the right to tax them ? " 
"Never," said Franklin quietly. 

In spite of Franklin's testimony, however, the Stamp 
Act was passed ; and when it was finally repealed, there 
went with the repeal a declaration 
that Parliament had a perfect right 
to impose taxes upon the colonists. 
If they had been contending for 
the money, this concession would 
have satisfied them for the time; 
but since they were making a stand 
for the principle of no taxation 
without representation, such a re- 
peal only made matters worse. 

It seemed impossible for Eng- 
land to comprehend that the colo- 
nists were not standing for pennies, but for principles, 
The tax an ^ when Lord North became prime minister, 
on tea. h e thought that they would be satisfied if all 
the taxes but one were removed. That one was a small 
tax on tea, and it was retained not only to show that 
England claimed the right to impose a tax, but also 
because the East India Company was in trouble. The 
colonists used a great deal of tea, but since it had been 
taxed in this wise, they had refused to purchase it, 
and so much had accumulated that the company was on 
the brink of failure. It had been a law that this com- 
pany should pay an export tax on the tea that was taken 
from the London storehouses to be sent to the colonists ; 




A REVOLUTIONARY STAMP 



1773-1775] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 



309 



and also an import tax when it was sold to dealers in 
America. England now agreed to allow this company 
to sell tea in America subject only to the threepenny 
import tax. This would make the company's tea cheaper 
than that which had been smuggled into America from 
Holland. The colonists would buy it, the company would 
be saved, and the 
right of taxation 
would be main- 
tained. 

So E n g 1 a nd 
planned, and the 
tea came to Amer- 
ica; but no one 
would buy it, and 
the trickery made 
the colonists more 
indignant than 
ever. In Charles- 
ton the tea was 
stored in damp 
cellars and soon 
spoiled. In Bos- 
ton some men dis- 
guised themselves 
as Indians and 
dropped it overboard. England was angry, and she 
passed several laws intended to hurt Boston as much as 
possible. So far there had not been much union among 
the colonies, but at this they felt that the mother country 
was not only treating them with injustice, but was in- 
tentionally trying to work them injury, and they were 
thoroughly aroused. 

263. The American Revolution. English troops were 




WILLIAM PITT, THE ELDER 



310 ENGLAND'S STORY [1778 

sent to Boston. Then William Pitt, the " Great Com-, 
moner," rose in the House and pleaded for the removal 
of the troops and for the repeal of the hostile acts of 
Parliament ; for this alone, he said, could save the colonies 
to England. " Every motive of justice and of policy," he 
declared, " of dignity and of prudence, urges you to allay 
the ferment in America." The question was put whether 
the English troops should be removed from the colonies. 
Even the king's younger brother voted for the removal, 
but a large majority were in favor of keeping them in 
America. This was in January, 1775, and in April the 
war broke out. 

England found that Canada stood by her. Then her 
plan was to begin in New England and work to the west 
and south, conquering one group of colonies after an- 
e land's other. Instead of this, she was forced from New 
plan. England, and did not succeed in cutting New 

England from New York as she had hoped. France was 
always ready to oppose England, and was particularly in 
France aids tne m0 °d for such opposition now that Eng- 
America. l an d had so recently taken Canada from her. 
Lafayette, a rich young French nobleman, came to 
help America, and France recognized the colonies, not 
as rebels, but as an independent country. Holland and 
Spain soon took the same ground. There was little 
probability that England would win, and William Pitt, 
or Lord Chatham, for he had become a nobleman, urged 
her to make any concession rather than lose her colonies. 
This was his last speech, for he fainted in the House, and 
died soon after he had been carried to his home. Still 
England persisted ; and even when the ministers yielded, 
King George was so determined that some of the English 
called the struggle "the King's War." So little did he 
understand the wisdom of Pitt's demands and the great* 



1780-1781] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 311 

ness of his ability, that when the House of Commons 
voted to honor the dead statesman by a public funeral 
and a monument, the king wrote to North that he was 
" rather surprised." Not long after France showed her 
friendliness, England finally came to the point of offer- 
ing many concessions, but it was too late, for now the 
colonists were determined to be independent. 

For seven years the war went on. The British plans 
failed in New England, in the Middle States, and in the 
South. Finally, in 1781, the surrender of the E a g- iaaa 
English commander, Lord Cornwallis, ended y lelds - 
the war. George III. made a speech to Parliament — ■ 
which his ministers wrote, of course — saying that he 
had "offered" to declare the colonies "free and inde- 
pendent states ; " but he explained a few lines farther on 
that it had been proved "how essential monarchy is to 
the enjoyment of constitutional liberty ! " 

264. Gordon Riots. In the reign of George III. there 
was a revolution in America, and there were riots in Lon- 
don, troubles and revolt in Ireland, war with France, 
and a second war with the American states — enough, 
surely, to fill one reign, even if it was a long one. To 
make matters harder, the king became insane a few years 
after the Revolution, and all the rest of his life he was 
either suffering from insanity or dreading another attack. 

The riots in London came about because some people 
were still worried lest the Roman Catholics should gain 
too much power. There were many old laws against 
them ; for instance, that a Protestant son could seize the 
estate of a Roman Catholic father, and that no Roman 
Catholic could own a piece of land. Although these laws 
were not enforced, people knew that they ought not to 
remain on the statute books, and they were repealed. 
Suddenly some of the Scotch were greatly alarmed, fear- 



312 ENGLAND'S STORY [1781 

ing that the pope would become a power in the land. 
Lord Gordon, a fanatical Scotchman, was a member of 
the English Parliament. He collected fifty or sixty thou- 
sand people of all sorts and led them in rioting through 
London. The Roman Catholic chapels of foreign minis- 
ters were broken into and robbed. Judges and all that 
had anything to do with executing the laws were the 
special aim of the mob. The private house of the chief 
justice was sacked, his pictures, manuscripts, and law 
library were destroyed ; the prison was broken into and 
the prisoners let loose, and even the Bank of England 
was attacked. London was set fire to in many different 
places. For four days the city was in terror of a half- 
mad fanatic and a mob of riotous people. A specially 
important result of these riots was that the English saw 
with their own eyes just what a frantic rabble would do, 
and when somewhat similar scenes occurred in France 
a few years later, they realized the horrors of mob law 
better than would otherwise have been possible. 

265. Discontent in Ireland. In Ireland there had 
been laws against Roman Catholics, and here they had 
been enforced. The Irish Parliament represented Protest- 
ants of the Church of England only, a small part of the 
people of the land. England looked upon Ireland as a 
colony of Englishmen who were troubled by natives ; 
and even these English were treated most unfairly, for 
England had not yet grasped the idea that the more 
successful her colonies were, the better it was for the 
mother country. Her notion of a colony was still a collec- 
tion of people to whom she could sell her manufactures. 
Just as she had forbidden her American colonies to make 
anything for themselves that she could make and sell to 
them, so she forbade the Irish ; and at one time she 
would not permit them to sell the produce of their farms 



1778-1789] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 313 

in England, lest this should injure the English farmers. 
The Irish felt that they were slaves, and they longed to 
be strong enough to revolt. 

After France had declared herself in favor of the 
American colonies, the English government needed more 
troops than could easily be raised, and in the emergency 
Ireland had been allowed to collect and drill many thou- 
sand men. When these men were all ready to fight, 
Ireland demanded reforms. England hardly dared to 
refuse when so many trained soldiers were backing the 
demand, and some of the severe laws against commerce 
were repealed ; but the Roman Catholics and the Presby- 
terians were still forbidden to become members of the 
Irish Parliament, or to have a word to say about making 
the laws, and the whole island was governed by the small 
number of members of the Church of England. No 
country could be expected to remain in peace and friend- 
ship with the land that imposed such a system of gov- 
ernment, and before many years had passed there was 
trouble again. 

266. French Revolution of 1789. Ireland had felt 
hopeful because of the success of the American colonies ; 
and this same success had done much to bring about a 
revolution in France, which was quite a different matter 
from the steady resistance to injustice and the firm de- 
termination to be free, that had marked the movement 
in America. For many years the French peasants had 
been terribly oppressed. There was much of m 

J l r Oppression 

the feudal system left in France, but while the of French 
nobles enjoyed its advantages, the peasants suf- peasans - 
fered from its disadvantages ; for instance, France had 
wide, finely made roads, but the government had built 
them by forcing the peasants to work without wages. 
These peasants had to pay toll to their lord if they crossed 



314 



a river 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1789 



they must use their lord's mill and his wine-press, 
and be taxed for it. They were taxed if they sold their 
grain. They were taxed if they stirred and if they did 
not stir. There were two sets of taxes, or rather three, 
for the lords and the king and the church must be sup- 
ported. In return for all this, the nobles and the king 



^T 








THE BASTILLE 



did nothing. The worst of it all was the utter hopeless- 
ness. A peasant might be a soldier, but only a noble 
could become an officer. A peasant might possibly 
become a parish priest, but only a noble could become a 
bishop. There was no way out, no chance of freedom. 
To be sure, matters were no worse at this time than they 
had been for years past, but the peasants had borne just 
as long as they could bear, and the outbreak came. 

In Paris there was a strong prison called the Bastille. 
It had many stone towers and a moat and a drawbridge, 



1789-1793] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 315 

When a noble wished to get rid of a man, he would 
obtain from the king a letter ordering the man The 
sent to this prison, and there he would be taken Bastil i»- 
without trial and sometimes even without any charge 
being brought against him; and there he would stay, 
often all the rest of his life. It is no wonder that the 
Paris mob first attacked the Bastille, and that they left 
not one stone upon another. When this was told to the 
king, he said, " It is a riot." " No, sire, a revolution," said 
the officer, and so it was, one of the most fearful revo- 
lutions in all history. The poor people seemed to lose 
all reason and all humanity. It was enough that a man 
was a noble — kill him. They remembered that in time 
of famine a certain rich man had said, " If the peasants 
are hungry, let them eat grass." They dragged the old 
man into the city with a bundle of grass on his back 
"Do not murder him, take him to the courts," said La 
fayette. "Why should he be tried?" shouted the mob 
"He has been judged these thirty years," and in a mo 
ment he was hanged. So it was in many parts of France 
The people were like ravening wild beasts. Nobles who 
had been kind to the peasants about them were murdered 
simply because they were nobles. The king and the 
royal family were captured by the mob and imprisoned. 
The whole nation was raging. A dear friend of the 
queen's was beheaded because she would not say that she 
hated her sovereign. The bloody head was fastened to 
a pole and thrust up under the queen's window. The 
headsman with his axe could not work fast enough, and 
the guillotine was invented. At last, in 1793, Execut ionot 
the king, Louis XVI, was put to death, less for Louis xvi. 
his own sins than for those of his fathers. He 
was a kind-hearted man who would have been glad to 
treat the poor fairly, but he was not determined enough 



316 ENGLAND'S STORY [1793 

to break through the customs and beliefs of those who had 
reigned before him, and not strong enough to overcome 
the opposition of the nobles. 

At first there was in England enthusiastic sympathy 
with the French Revolution. The English felt that they 
had obliged their sovereigns to rule justly and for the 
good of the people, and this was what they thought the 
French were trying to do. English statesmen were de- 
lighted, and English poets wrote songs in praise of the 
glories of liberty ; but soon they saw that this was not a 
struggle for justice, it was a wild, mad slaughter, for after 
the death of the king there was in France a horrible, 
Reign of savage time called the Reign of Terror. One 
Terror. man a fter another had the lead. Conspiracies 
were formed ; multitudes of innocent persons were guil- 
lotined. From the Gordon riots the English could ima- 
gine the furies of the mob of French, far more excitable 
and less self-controlled than the English. They saw that 
the three watchwords of the revolutionists, " Liberty, 
equality, fraternity," meant: liberty — that they might 
do as they pleased; equality — that every one should be 
dragged down to their own level ; fraternity — that they 
and their partisans would oppose all others. 

267. War with France. The masses of people in 
England were eager for war with France. The atrocities 
of the French Revolution had horrified them. Perhaps 
they felt even more keenly the execution of the sovereign 
of France because they had become very fond of their 
simple, talkative old king, and seemed to have forgotten 
all about his earlier blunders. He went about among his 
subjects, chatting with them in most familiar fashion, and 
asking them questions as naturally as if they were his 
own children. " How did the apple ever get into the 
apple dumpling ? " and " Pray tell me how you set a trap 



1793] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 317 

to catch a mouse with toasted cheese ? " the king queried. 
His subjects liked him all the better for his childlike 
talk, and they were heartily indignant at any impertinent 
criticism of the man upon whom they looked as their own 
familiar friend. All sympathy with the French had van- 
ished. The guilt of oppression had been atoned for with 
the blood of the oppressors. England stood aghast. 

France made the mistake of believing that the masses 
of the English sympathized with her, and that the king 
and the English nobles were tyrannizing over them ; and 
one month after the execution of Louis, while the Reign 
of Terror was at its height, France declared war against 
England. The English had an idea that this war would 
be short, and it was well that they should have thought 
so, for troubles from another source were pressing upon 
them. 

268. Reign of Terror in Ireland. Just at this time, in 
1793, the Irish Roman Catholics rose again to demand 
their rights. They were obliged to support the Protest- 
ant church, and they had no voice in making their own 
laws. Under the pressure England granted, unwillingly, 
freedom to vote for members of the Irish Parliament ; 
but as those members must be Protestants, this was 
not so very much of a concession. There was in Ire- 
land, too, almost a reign of terror. The Roman 
Catholic peasants broke into riots and outrages of all 
sorts. They were savage with the bitterness of many 
generations. Savage, too, were the punishments inflicted 
by the government. 

269, Union between England and Ireland. To fight 
for Ireland was the very step for which France was 
ready. France had won her freedom, so she believed, 
and now she would help Ireland win hers. France was 
at war with England, and every blow in behalf of Ireland 



318 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1800 



was a blow at England. The French government, with 
the aid of its ally, Spain, sent ships to invade Ireland and 
help her to free herself from England. Once they were 
scattered by a storm. Twice the fleets were defeated by 
the English. England was convinced that there must 
be a union between the two islands. The only way to 
secure anything like an Irish majority in favor of a union 
was to buy votes, and enough votes were bought to carry 
the measure. The friends of justice hoped to persuade 
the English to admit Irish Roman Catholics as members 
of the joint Parliament ; but this was not done, chiefly 
because the one idea that held sway in the faithful old 
king's obstinate mind was that to give freedom to Roman 
Catholics would be to break his coronation oath to sup- 
port the Protestant church. 




IRISH FLAG 



UNION JACK, l8ol 



UNION JACK BEFORE l8oi 



270. Napoleon Bonaparte's career. The fighting with 
France was going on through these troublous times. 
Among the French one man had become most prominent. 
His name was Napoleon Bonaparte, and he was one of 
the greatest generals that the world has ever known. 
France was now governed, not by a king, but by a body 
of men called the Directorate. Napoleon had been a 
very successful officer, and these men had great; confi- 



1798] 



THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 



319 




NAPOLEON BONAPARTE 



encounter. Napoleon 
his ships were 
drawn up ready 
for a fight, Nel- 
son contrived to 
bring the English 
ships between 
those of the 
French and the 
shore, and to at- 
tack the French 
in a way for which 
\hey were not pre- 
pared. The re- 
sult was an Eng- 
lish victory. This 
engagement was 
off the mouth of 
the Nile, so it is called 



was 



dence in whatever he 
suggested. His plan 
was to conquer Egypt 
and then make his way 
to India, subjugating 
as he went. This 
would drive the Eng- 
lish from India and 
would give France 
control of the Medi- 
terranean. Unluckily 
for Napoleon, there 
was a brave English 
saitor, named 
Nelson, who 
was fully equal to an 
successful on land, but when 




LORD NELSON 



the Battle of the Nile. 



320 ENGLAND'S STORY [1801-1805 

There was also fighting in the Baltic Sea, off Copen- 
hagen, because England believed that the Danes were 
carrying goods to France. At one time during the battle 
several vessels had run aground, and the English admiral 
put up the signal to stop fighting. It is said that Nelson 
held the glass to his blind eye and declared that there was 
no signal, for he could not see any ; so he kept on, and 
won. Nelson was so good to the wounded Danes that 
when he landed in Denmark he was received with shouts 
of applause. 

Napoleon had now become the most powerful man in 
France. With the army to support him, it had been 
easy for him to overthrow the government of the Direc- 
torate. He did not dare to suggest the title of king, so 
he was called the First Consul, but he had more power 
than Louis XVI. had ever held, and finally he was 
Napoleon called Emperor. He was so sure that he could 
as emperor, conquer England that he actually had a medal 
struck and dated 1804, in honor of the conquest which 
he expected to make. But he never set foot on Eng. 
lish soil, for off Cape Trafalgar was Nelson awaiting 
him. Once, when Napoleon was about to fight a battle 
in Egypt in sight of the pyramids, he had called to 
his men, " Soldiers, forty centuries are looking down 
upon you." Nelson was not so theatrical. He ran up 
the signal so that all on the fleet could read it, " England 
expects every man to do his duty." Every man did his 
duty, and the French were driven back. 

Napoleon's soldiers would follow him anywhere, and 
for a number of years he did just about what he pleased, 
not only in France, but through the rest of Europe. He 
would conquer a country, depose the king, and put one 
of his brothers or one of his generals on the throne. He 
tried to put his brother Joseph on the throne of Spain, 



!8o8-i8i2] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 321 

but Spain appealed to England for help, and the Duke of 
Wellington was sent against him. This struggle is called 
the Peninsular War, because Spain is a peninsula. The 





napoleon's medal to commemorate his expected conquest of 

ENGLAND 

Duke of Wellington drove Napoleon away, and Spain 
had again her own king. Joseph after a while came to 
America and bought some land in New Jersey. This is 
why that state is sometimes nicknamed "Spain." 

Several European countries had been leagued against 
Napoleon, but England was the one that he hated most 
bitterly. He was at peace with Russia, but when he 
demanded that that country should not trade with 
England, Russia refused to yield. Napoleon Napole on 
marched straight into the heart of the land to m Russia, 
capture Moscow ; but when he came to the city, it had 
been burned by the Russians to prevent his gaining any- 
thing by its capture. The French had expected to find 
supplies in Moscow, and they were almost without provi- 
sions in the fearful cold of a Russian winter. Slowly 
they retreated, but only one man in twenty of the great 
French army ever saw France again. The Russian army 
pressed into Paris from the north and the English from 



322 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



1814-1815] 



Waterloo. 
1815. 



the south. Napoleon surrendered, and was sent to the 

little island of Elba. A younger brother of Louis XVI. 

was put upon the French throne. Many were afraid 

of kingly control, remembering what they had 

Napoleon's b J & J 

return from suffered, and when Napoleon slipped away from 
Elba and came to France, there was wild re- 
joicing, and an enthusiastic army was ready to do his 
bidding. 

Several nations united to oppose him, but the English 

under the Duke 
of Wel- 
lington 
were first on the 
spot. Napoleon 
met them at Wa- 
terloo, in Belgium. 
Hour after hour 
the fighting went 
on. It became 
evident to both 
commanders that 
victory would lie 
with the side 
that was first re- 
inforced. Would 
the French or the 
Prussians march 
over the bad road 
the more rapidly? 
The Prussians came first, and the field was won by Eng- 
land. Napoleon could not be trusted so near as Elba, 
and the allies sent him to Saint Helena, where he died 
in exile. 

271. Condition of England. This was the end of the 




ARTHUR WELLESLEY, DUKE OF WELLINGTON 



J815] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 323 

fighting that, with intervals of peace, had been carried on 
by England and France for one hundred years. The 
taxes which it had made necessary were crushing to the 
poor, and they had still other troubles to meet, for Eng- 
land was undergoing a revolution not in govern- watt in- 
ment, but in methods of manufacturing. James JJ^JJ 
Watt, in 1765, had so improved upon the rude gine. 1765. 
steam engine of one century earlier that his work was 
practically a new invention. At about the same time 
machines for spinning and weaving were invented. These 
industries had previously been carried on in the home, 
but now men must go away from home and Factor ies 
work when and where the owners of factories are bunt, 
might choose. Even if the workmen were able to go to 
the factories, one machine could do the work of many 
men, and those that were not needed had no other work 
to do. Thousands were starving. They felt that in some 
way the new inventions were to blame for their troubles, 
and. there were riots in which much machinery was de- 
stroyed. The poor had little chance of education ; for books 
and papers were dear, and there were no free Severe 
schools. Punishments for offences against the laws - 
laws were unreasonably severe. If a man could not pay 
his debts, he was kept in prison all his life, unless he had 
friends to buy him out. To-day a man is put to death 
for wilful murder and for treason ; but in the reign of 
George III. there was a long list of misdemeanors for 
which even a child might be hanged. If a person stole an 
article valued at five shillings, the penalty was hanging; 
and when the amount was changed from five shillings to 
twenty, some people were in all sincerity greatly alarmed 
lest the land should be overrun with thieves. Others 
saw how unreasonable it was to take a man's life for such 
an offence, and a jury would sometimes save a man who 



324 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1812 



had stolen a one-pound note by bringing in a verdict, 
" Guilty of stealing a one-pound note valued at nineteen 
shillings." 

272. War of 1812. During the last ten years of 
the reign of George III., the poor old king was insane 

and blind, and 
his son ruled in 
his place. Just 
after the trou- 
ble came upon 
him, there was 
a second war 
with America. 
The chief cause 
was the claim 
of England that 
a man born 
on English soil 
was always an 
Englishman, 
and could not 
become a citi- 
zen of any 
other nation. 
She declared that an English commander had a right to 
search any ships that he met on the ocean and seize any 
44 Right of men that he thought were of English birth. 
search." This claim was callec j t ^ e « Right of Search." 

It is said that England had seized from American vessels 
as many as six thousand men who were either natural- 
ized American citizens or else of American birth, and 
that she had forced them to enter the English navy. It 
was during this war that the English landed in Mary- 
land, destroyed the Congressional Library, and burned 




THE FRIGATE CONSTITUTION (OLD IRONSIDES) 



1760-1820] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 325 

the Capitol in Washington. The Americans won at 
New Orleans, but their greatest victories were on the 
water. This was the more remarkable because England 
had been so successful in the naval warfare with France. 
It was said that she had captured hundreds of ships and 
had lost only five ; but that after fighting with America 
six months she had " had six naval battles, had lost six 
ships, and had not taken one." It was in this war that 
the Constitution, or Old Ironsides, won her victories, and 
that Perry, the young man who had never seen a naval 
engagement, defeated the English on Lake Erie, and sent 
to Washington the message, " We have met the enemy, 
and they are ours." In 18 14 the war closed, but the bat- 
tle of New Orleans was fought after the treaty was signed, 
because, as there was no telegraph and no way of send- 
ing the news any sooner than by sailing vessel, no one 
in America knew that peace had been declared. 

273. Literature. In a reign so long as that of George 
III. there was opportunity for changes in literature as 
well as in manufacturing. Samuel Johnson was Samuel 
the man who exerted most influence over the Johnson - 
literary world of his day. He wrote biography, criticism, 
essays, and a story called " Rasselas," but his great work 
was the compilation of an English dictionary, the first of 
any real value. The worth of this book was so fully ap- 
preciated that it was even proposed to make its author a 
sort of dictator over the English language, and to allow 
no appeal from his decision. He had a friend, 011ver 
named Oliver Goldsmith, who, as was said, Goldsmith. 
" wrote like an angel, and talked like poor Poll." Gold- 
smith was always out of money and was always getting 
into trouble, but he was so witty and so lovable that there 
was generally a friend at hand to help him out of his 
difficulties. He, too, wrote a novel, the w Vicar of 



326 ENGLAND'S STORY [1760-1820 

Wakefield." " Rasselas" is really a kind of essay on the 
folly of discontent, though it has a slender plot and the 
paragraphs are assigned to different characters ; but the 
"Vicar" is a readable story about real men and women, 
and is written with a charming naturalness and simplicity 
and humor. Goldsmith wrote poetry as well as prose, and 
his " Deserted Village " is as delightful as the "Vicar." 

One would expect the writing of novels of home life, 
which began about the middle of the eighteenth century, 
to be continued, but there was also much writ- 
ing of poetry before and after the year 1800. 
The imagination of men of literary ability seems to have 
been excited by the revolutions and the new thoughts of 
the latter part of the eighteenth century, just as it was 
by the great events of the reign of Elizabeth, and some 
of the poetry that was written has the freshness and ease 
Robert °f the Elizabethan days. In Scotland Robert 
Burns. Burns wrote not only such irresistibly humorous 
poems as "Tarn O'Shanter," but also such strong lines 

as : — 

" The rank is but the guinea's stamp ; 
The man 's the gowd for a' that." 

His writings, with their beauty and pathos and humor, 
sound the keynote of the newly arisen interest in people 
because they were people, and not because they were 
waiter ric ^ or educated or of high rank. A little 
Scott - later Walter Scott wrote poems that have almost 

the ring of the old ballads. Then he wrote historical 
novels, and these, too, are in sympathy with the new feel- 
ing, for in his stories it is not so often the lords and 
ladies as the cottagers and the men of low degree that 
arouse our warmest interest. Wordsworth came with his 
love of nature and his conviction that writing poetry 
was not an amusement but a serious business. Charles 



1760-1820] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 327 

Lamb showed people the beauties of the old, half-for- 
gotten dramatists, and wrote his " Essays of Charles 
Elia" with their unequalled geniality, pathos, Lamb - 
and humor. At the end of the reign of George III. the 
literature of the nineteenth century was well begun with 
freshness, brightness, humor, appreciation of the old, 
readiness for the new, and a rapidly developing feeling of 
sympathy for whatever is human. 

SUMMARY 

The reign of George III., the longest in English history 
except that of Queen Victoria, was a series of wars. First 
came the American Revolution, by which England lost her 
colonies in America. Further manifestation of the English 
colonial policy caused riots in Ireland ; and France, fresh 
from her own Revolution, was ready to help the Irish. Eng- 
lish bribery brought about the union of Ireland with England. 
France declared war, but the supremacy of the English navy 
under Nelson freed England from all danger of French inva- 
sion. The war went on for twenty years, ending with Wel- 
lington's defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo. England had also 
been at war with America a second time. 

The poor suffered greatly from the heavy taxes that these 
wars made necessary, and from the introduction of labor- 
saving machinery. 

A long reign of fighting left England without her American 
colonies and with no compensating territorial gain in any 
other quarter. 

33. George IV. 1 820-1 830 

274. George IV. becomes king. When George IV. 
came to the throne, in 1820, there was no enthusiasm. 
He had really ruled England ten years, as for that length 
of time his father had been hopelessly insane, and this 
George had acted as regent. He was reckless and profli- 



328 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1820-1828 



gate, and did nothing but enjoy himself in wildness 
and dissipation. More than once Parliament paid enor- 
mous debts that he began to contract anew as soon as 
the old ones had been settled. In the earlier days of 
England it was the custom for a knight in full armor 

to appear at each 
coronation, and chal- 
lenge to single com- 
bat any one who 
disputed the right 
of the new sovereign 
to the throne. At 
the coronation of 
George IV. this 
" King's Champion" 
appeared for the last 
time, and it does 
seem as if in the 
character of the king 
there was reason 
enough why some 
one should have re- 
sponded to the chal- 
lenge of the cham- 
pion. 

275. Repeal of unjust laws. The reign of George 
IV. is noted especially for the repeal of several unjust 
laws which had been passed in the time of Charles II. 
The object of these laws had been to counteract the 
influence that King Charles was constantly using in favor 
of the Roman Catholic Church. 

One of these was called the Corporation Act. It had 
been passed just after Charles II. came to the throne, 
and it declared that no one should hold any town office 




GEORGE IV. 



I 



1829] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 329 

or be an officer in any corporation, unless he was a mem- 
ber of the Church of England. After nearly „ 

° , J Corporation 

two hundred years, this was repealed. Another and Test 

was known as the Test Act, and this had been 
passed because Charles had issued what was called a 
Declaration of Indulgence ; for, although this Declaration 
gave to members of all churches the same rights that 
members of the Church of England enjoyed, Parliament 
believed that Charles's only reason for issuing it was to 
give Roman Catholics more power. The Test Act re- 
quired every one who wished to hold any civil or military 
office to swear that he believed one of the principal doc- 
trines of the Roman Catholic Church to be false. Daniel 
O'Connell, an Irishman of great ability, having Roman 
been duly elected, demanded a seat in the House Catholics 
of Commons, notwithstanding his being a Ro- parliament, 
man Catholic. There was strong opposition, 1829 " 
but it was finally withdrawn lest there should be war in 
Ireland. The Catholic Emancipation Act was passed, 
and at last it had become possible for a Roman Catholic 
to have a voice in making the laws for his country. 

276. Who should succeed to the throne. George 
IV. was not so beloved, and his royal ancestors had not 
been so brilliant that the English needed to long for a 
continuance of the family in power ; but the nation would 
have been horrified at the idea of any change, and there 
was much anxiety about the succession. After George 
IV., his next younger brother William would rule ; but 
neither of them had any children to inherit the throne. 
There was, however, the daughter of a still younger 
brother, a little girl eleven years old. Her father was 
dead, and she was living quietly and simply with her 
mother and her governess, playing with the dolls that she 
kept as long as she lived, and without the least idea that 
she might some day become a queen. 



<530 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1830 



SUMMARY 

Acts were passed repealing the unjust Corporation Act and 
Test Act that had been passed during the reign of Charles II. 
The passage of the Catholic Emancipation Act admitted Ro- 
man Catholics to Parliament. There was much anxiety about 
the succession to the throne. 



34. William IV. 1 830-1 837 

277. The " Sailor King." William IV. is called the 
" Sailor King," because he spent most of his life in the 

navy. He was 
bluff and cordial in 
his manner, kind- 
hearted and frank, 
and he meant sin- 
cerely to do his 
best for the people. 
It never seemed to 
enter his mind that 
he was in any way 
superior to the rest 
of the nation be- 
cause of his royal 
blood, and he had 
a way of treating 
great and small 
very much alike, 
and a rather aston- 
ishing fashion of inviting men to dinner without the least 
regard to whether they were Whigs or Tories. He 
cared little for the forms and ceremonies of state, but he 
cared a great deal about his people's loving him and feel- 
ing satisfied with what he did for them. 




WILLIAM IV. 



1830-1832] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 33 1 

278. Reforms in electing members of Parliament. 

Reforms and inventions, and not wars, make up the story 
of William's reign. The first reform was in the method 
of electing members of Parliament. In the times of 
Henry III. two knights represented each shire, or county. 
Then representatives were sent from some of the towns, 
or boroughs. Which towns should be selected seems to 
have depended either upon the choice of the king or 
upon the willingness of the town to meet the necessary 
expense. It gradually became an established custom 
that these towns and no others should be represented in 
Parliament. As time passed, a borough which had no 
right of representation sometimes became the home of 
large numbers of people ; while in another, that chanced 
to have no manufactories, the number of inhabitants had 
often become exceedingly small. It is said that in the 
year of William's coronation there was not a single inhab- 
itant left in a certain one of these boroughs, and the man 
that owned the land quietly selected his two members and 
sent them to Parliament to represent no one but himself. 
Even this was better than the other side of the matter, 
for it was not quite so bad to have two men represent 
one as to have many large cities entirely without repre- 
sentation, simply because the land on which they were 
built did not have any inhabitants in the olden times. 

These boroughs in which so few lived were called 
" rotten boroughs," and the time had come when reform 
could no longer wait. A list was read in Parliament of 
the boroughs to which it was proposed to give no repre- 
sentation, and of those that were to send one member 
instead of two, or sometimes even four. This would 
deprive more than one hundred and fifty members of 
their seats in Parliament. Most of them were present, 
and as the bill was read, there were roars of laughter at 



332 ENGLAND'S STORY J1832 

the absurdity of such a scheme ; but the masses of the 
nation were demanding the reform, and finally the House 
of Commons voted for it. The House of Lords opposed, 
but the nation was no less determined. The vote was 
taken again with the same result, for not only was there 
the customary opposition of the lords to making changes, 
but many believed sincerely that to have members repre- 
sent people instead of land, and to depart from the old 
system of elections, would be a great injury to the gov- 
ernment. Finally, the king was driven by his 
boroughs" ministers to give permission to make as many 

abolished. , , , ,, 

new peers as would be necessary to carry the 
measure ; and the House of Lords then yielded rather 
than have their ranks so crowded. 

This reform was for the good of all England, but there 
was another reform that was especially for the benefit of 
Help lor the tne children who had been working in factories 
children. anc [ m coa j mines. They were little children, 
too, some of them not more than four years of age, and 
girls as well as boys. In the mines the children were in 
total darkness, often drenched with cold water from morn- 
ing till night. Sometimes for twelve or fourteen hours a 
day they opened and shut doors whenever they heard a 
coal-car coming. Sometimes they had to creep on their 
hands and feet and drag through the wet passages heavy 
loads fastened by a chain to a girdle put around the 
waist. A commissioner appointed to examine the mines 
reported that he had found a little girl only six years of 
age dragging fifty pounds in this fashion for fourteen 
long trips every day. The lives of children employed in 
factories were no less hard, save that they did not work 
in darkness and in water. It was felt to be a great step 
in the right direction when it was decreed that no child 
under nine years of age should be employed, and that 



l833 ] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 333 

children between nine and fourteen should not work 
more than eight hours a day. When we remember that 
besides the other horrors o£ their lives they were some- 
times brutally whipped for the most trifling faults, even 
for falling asleep, this kindness of the lawmakers seems 
only a little removed from utter barbarity, but there 
were better laws to come. 

There were other slaves besides these little children 
and in their behalf a good man named Wilberforce had 
been working for many years. The slave trade 
had been forbidden for a quarter of a century £-j* 
but in the West Indies negro slaves were still ^slaves, 
held to work on the sugar plantations. In 1833 
it was decreed that they should be made free and the 
sum of twenty million pounds was ordered to be paid to 
the owners of the plantations to make goo the ! loss 
Wilberforce lived just long enough to know that the bill 
would become a law, and that the good to which he 
had devoted his life would come to pass. 

Now that people had begun to have a little reahza ion 
of the suffering around them, it occurred to some that 
even persons accused of crime had rights, and ^ei 
that eiving a man a trial before a jury was not lowealo 
all that was necessary in order to give him jus- smu^ 
tice If a man was accused of a crime, the 
government employed a lawyer to bring up every c.rcum- 
ftance that would tell against him, but the man tanjdf 
could not have a lawyer. He migh speak in his own 
behalf but very few accused men would be likely to under- 
sttd'the intricacies of the law, and there must have 
be" multitudes who were imprisoned or even executed 
not because they were wicked but because hey were 
ignorant. Now, for the first time, an accused man was 
allowed to have a lawyer to speak for him and to bring 



334 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1836 



up every cir- 
cumstance that 
would tell in his 
favor. 

There were 
great inven- 
tions in the 
short reign of 
the "Sailor 
King," the first 
steam railway, 
the first iron 
vessel, and the 
tiny friction 
match. More 
important than 
any invention 
was the pro- 
gress of the 
feeling that 

those who have power and wealth ought to aid those 

who have neither. 




■j/ ■^m//^^p^. 



STEPHENSON'S LOCOMOTIVE "THE ROCKET' 

Adopted for use on the Liverpool and Manchester 
Railway in 1829 



SUMMARY 

The reign of the " Sailor King " was noted chiefly for its re. 
forms. The principal ones were the abolition of the " rotten 
boroughs," of some of the worst features of child-labor, and 
of slavery in the colonies. Men accused of crime were then 
for the first time allowed to have the aid of a lawyer. The 
general character of these reforms indicated a gain in public 
sympathy for those that needed help. 



18373 THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 335 

35. Victoria. 1 837-1901 

279. The girl queen. It was five o'clock one June 
morning when a young girl in Kensington Palace was 
awakened by the coming of the Archbishop of Canter- 
bury, the Lord Chamberlain, and the king's physician, to 
tell her that she was queen of more than eighteen mil- 
lions of people. A few hours later the great reception 
rooms of the palace were filled with a famous company, 
bishops and archbishops and nobles and illustrious com- 
moners. Victoria was then but little more than eigh- 
teen years of age, and every one watched to see how 
she would behave on so difficult an occasion. Would 
she be elated by her new honors, or self-possessed, or 
shy and embarrassed ? They had not long to wait. The 
wide doors were thrown open, and the young queen 
entered with her mother. She was pale, but perfectly 
calm. She seated herself at the head of the council 
table. Then came the solemn oath that she would act 
for the good of her country and defend the Church of 
England. There was a moment's pause, for her man- 
ner was so sincere, so modest, and so dignified, and she 
seemed to realize so perfectly the responsibility of the 
high position to which she had been called, that every 
one was hushed. Then came the councillors' oath of 
fealty, and old, gray-haired men knelt at her feet and 
solemnly promised to be true to her as their lawful sover- 
eign. "If she had been my own daughter," said the 
Duke of Wellington, " I could not have wished that she 
should do better." 

280. A welcome ruler. Victoria was happy in her 
new position. A Scotch nobleman who saw her soon 
after the coronation said, " The little queen was exceed- 
ingly kind, and as merry and playful as a kitten." She 



336 ENGLAND'S STORY [1837-1838 

was a descendant of Alfred the Great and of William 
the Conqueror. No one else had the least claim to the 
throne. There was nothing in her past life that needed 
to be pardoned or overlooked; and the fact that upon 
shoulders so slender rested the weight of so great a king- 
dom gave her sympathy rather than envy. She had been 
brought up simply and quietly, and had been accustomed 
to less luxury than many of her subjects. Moreover, 
there was a strong reason why English statesmen were 
especially glad, and this was that now England would 
have nothing to do with Hanover ; for that country had 
a law that it should not be ruled by a woman so long as 
there was a man in the royal family. An uncle of the 
queen's went to govern Hanover, and Victoria ruled 
Great Britain. 

281. Limitations of the royal power. The rule of 
an English sovereign in Victoria's day was quite a differ- 
ent matter from that of a few centuries earlier. When 
the queen had been on the throne less than two years, 
her prime minister resigned, and she was obliged to select 
another. She offered the position to Sir Robert Peel, 
and he agreed to accept it ; but he declared that it would 
be necessary to remove the chief ladies who were in at- 
tendance upon her and put in others who were in sym- 
pathy with the changed ministry. The queen was not 
pleased, and she wrote to Sir Robert that such a change 
was not customary, that she did not like it, and would 
not consent to it. Then Sir Robert replied as politely as 
possible that he could not take office unless this was 
done. The result was that the former prime minister 
returned to power ; but there was afterwards a kind of 
compromise, and while the other ladies of the house 
remain, the Mistress of the Robes, who holds the highest 
position in the queen's household, resigns as soon as her 



'S37-1901] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 337 

party is out of power. An English queen is, therefore, 
less free to choose her principal attendant than is the 




QUEEN VICTORIA 



woman who is at the head of any other household 
the land. 



in 



33^ ENGLAND'S STORY [1837 

It is true that the preferences of the sovereign often 
count for much more than the commands of others, and 
that he has much power, though but little au- 
not domin- thority ; yet his power is a matter of influence 
rather than of dominion. An English ruler no 
longer rules ; he holds the sceptre, but it must point as 
the people direct. He is the figurehead of the nation, a 
symbol of law and justice, but he no longer has the right 
to make a law or to interfere with the course of justice. 
What would the Stuarts with their " divine right " have 
thought of a king who has no choice whether to sign a 
bill or not, but who is obliged to agree to whatever the 
two Houses of Parliament think best ? 

282. Limitations of the House of Lords. In the 
days of Magna Carta the nobles were the only power 
that could call a tyrannical king to account and make him 
deal justly with his people. They have now far less 
power than formerly. It is true that a bill cannot become 
a law without their agreement, but if they persist in re- 
fusing to confirm a vote of the Commons, the Commons 
may then require the king to create a sufficient number 
of new peers to carry the measure. Moreover, there are 
but few subjects on which the Lords may present bills, 
and even those bills cannot become laws without the vote 
of the Commons. 

283. Value of the House of Lords. The House of 
Commons is inclined to go ahead, and the House of 
Lords to hold back, and to oppose reforms and innova- 
tions. Still, the Lords have almost invariably yielded 
when they saw that the Commons were really in earnest. 
George Washington compared our American House of 
Representatives and Senate to the cup and saucer. The 
tea in the cup was hot, he said, and it needed to be 
ooured into the saucer to cool ; and it is an excellent 



1837] 



THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 



339 



plan to have one of the two bodies of law-makers not in 
a hurry to adopt every new idea. If those men only who 
had nobles for ancestors could be nobles, it is likely that 
there would be no House of Lords to-day ; but while it is 
possible for a man who has worked his way to the front 
as artist, musician, author, general, or statesman to be- 
come a lora, there cannot be a very strong jealousy of the 




HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT, OPENED IN 1852 

nobles as a people set apart to receive favors for which 
they have made no return. 

284. Power of the Commons. The real power lies 
in the hands of the Commons, and it is the Commons 
that hold the money-bags of the kingdom. When King 
Henry VII. wanted money, he simply took it from any 
of his subjects that possessed it. To-day neither House 
of Lords nor king dares even suggest such a thing as a 
tax. The proposal to raise money must come from the 
House of Commons, and from nowhere else. 




34° ENGLAND'S STORY [1840-1851 

285. Marriage of the queen. 1840. Victoria as a 
sovereign stood alone. She could consult no statesman 

as an individual ; he must 
always be looked upon as 
representing a party. Her 
marriage in 1840 to her 
cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe- 
Coburg-Gotha, was especially 
pleasing to her personal 
friends, although many of her 
subjects felt a vague jealousy 
of a foreigner's holding in 
England a position of such 
influence. Momentous ques- 
tions of precedence arose, 
which were partially settled 
when one wise old councillor 
declared, " Let the queen put 
the prince just where she wants him to be." 

The fears of Prince Albert's influence were needless. 
From his marriage to his death, in 1861, he devoted 
himself to the best good of his adopted country, 
world's The World's Fair of 1851, the first of the 
Fair. 1851. g rea j- industrial exhibitions, was suggested and 
planned by him. His interest in art and education was 
an unfailing inspiration and stimulus to the subjects of 
the queen. 

286. The "Opium War." 1840. In the year of the 
royal marriage, England was fighting against China. 
This contest was known as the " Opium War." The 
English were raising large quantities of opium in India, 
and they were finding the Chinese exceedingly good cus- 
tomers. China had never been willing to trade with 
foreigners, and she was indignant at the persistent efforts 



PRINCE ALBERT 



1848] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 341 

of England to force the drug upon her. Its use had in- 
creased so that the English sent eight times as much 
in 1839 as in 18 10, and the dealers were making fortunes. 
England would not yield, and the result of the war was 
that China was forced to open her ports to British trade. 

287. The Chartist Agitation. 1848. Not long be- 
fore the beginning of Victoria's reign, the " rotten 
boroughs " were done away with, and the Lords felt that 
a great deal had been granted to the masses of the people. 
Not every one agreed with them. A man must even 
then have an income from land of three hundred pounds 
before he could become a member of the House of 
Commons. This was an old law, and its object was to 
keep the law-making in the hands of those who held land 
instead of those who were poor, or who were even wealthy 
but had no land. Many people believed that a man own- 
ing landed property would have a greater interest in the 
well-being of the country than a man who had only 
money ; and as for the working people, they were not 
thought of at all. 

The time had come when they had begun to think for 
themselves. Thousands of working men had no repre- 
sentation in the government, and they began to hold 
meetings and to discuss their rights. Little came of the 
movement until 1848, when they decided to send a pe- 
tition asking that every man in the kingdom should have 
the right to vote, that the property qualification for mem- 
bers of Parliament should be abolished, and that each 
member should receive a salary, so that if a poor man 
was elected, he might be enabled to take his seat. These 
were three of the six demands of the petition. The other 
three were for annual Parliaments, for vote by ballot, and 
for a division of the country into electoral districts of 
equal population, so that all members of Parliament 



342 ENGLAND'S STORY [1846-1849 

might represent the same number of men. The pe- 
titioners had the same grievance as had the American 
colonies — taxation without representation. Those who 
were trying to bring this representation about were called 
" Chartists," because their plan was set forth in what was 
called the " People's Charter." 

There were such alarming stories of the millions of 
names that would be on this charter, and the million of 
a general people that would go with the wagon-load of 
alarm. petition to the doors of Parliament, that Lon- 
don was greatly alarmed. Troops were drilled, ready to 
defend the capital, and no less a man than the Duke 
of Wellington was called upon to command them. So 
much was done that there was a vast amount of amuse- 
ment when it was found that the "millions" that had 
seemed so startling had dwindled to a small number, and 
that all the fright had been for nothing. The Chartist 
demands were not unreasonable, and several of the re- 
forms called for have since been either wholly or partially 
accomplished. 

288. Repeal of the corn laws. 1846-49. There were 
other old laws, called "corn laws," that were bringing dis- 
tress upon great numbers of people. During the wars 
preceding Victoria's reign, there was much difficulty in 
obtaining "corn" — meaning in England all kinds of 
grain — and the price was exceedingly high. When a 
time of peace came, the price would naturally have fallen, 
but as the laws were in great part made by land-owners 
and in their interest, a heavy duty had been imposed upon 
all grain brought into England. This was an exceed- 
ingly good thing for the land-owners, but not so good for 
the poor people who worked in the factories and had to 
buy their bread. In 1845 there was a terrible famine in 
Ireland because of the failure of the potato crop, and 



1854-1857] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 



343 



Parliament knew that thousands of Irish would starve if 
they could not have cheap bread. Then the government 
yielded, and little by 
little the corn laws 
were repealed. 

289. The Crimean 
War. 1854. The 
Opium War had been 
fought in order to sup- 
port England's finan- 
cial interests. She 
now engaged in a war 
against Russia, called 
the Crimean War. 
Russia was fighting 
with Turkey, and was 
eager to get possess- 
ion of Constantinople, 
that she might control 
the Black Sea and send 

her fleet into the Mediterranean if she chose. France ob- 
jected, and England fearing the loss of India joined her. 
Both sides fought bravely, but neither made any great 
gain. The war is memorable for the siege of „„,. 

& " Charge of 

Sevastopol and for the charge of the "Light the Light 
Brigade " at Balaklava, which Tennyson's poem Brlgade -" 
has made immortal. It is memorable also for the fact 
that the English war department was so inefficient that 
thousands died for the want of proper food and clothing. 
The only pleasant thing about the whole matter is that 
this was the time when Florence Nightingale began her 
work in caring for the sick and suffering among the 
soldiers. 

290. The Sepoy Rebellion. 1857. Hardly was the 




FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE 



344 ENGLAND'S STORY [1857-1861 

Crimean War brought to a close when a terrible mutiny 
broke out in India, and for the strangest of reasons. 
Even though the people of the conquered country seemed 
to be quiet, the English well knew that it was wise to 
keep up a strong military force. This had been done 
chiefly by filling the ranks with Mohammedans and 
Hindus serving under English officers. In 1857 a new 
kind of rifle was introduced that required cartridges 
greased with a mixture of tallow and lard, and the soldier 
was obliged to bite off the end of the cartridge. The 
Hindu looked upon the cow as sacred, the Mohamme- 
dan scorned the hog as unclean, and the required use 
of this new cartridge was the final cause of the fearful 
Sepoy rebellion. There were frightful massacres at 
Lucknow, exhibiting all the atrocities of barbaric war- 
fare. The English had brave commanders, but few men, 
and the cholera was raging. Nevertheless, they won, 
and their vengeance was awful. The mere death of the 
rebels would, they believed, impress but slightly a race 
that cared little for their lives ; and the most brutal of 
the revolters were bound to the mouths of cannons and 
blown to shreds. 

291. Civil war in the United States. In 186 1 civil 
war broke out in the United States. • English sympathy 
was divided, The nobles and many prominent men were 
inclined to favor the South, while a few clear-headed 
statesmen and the masses of the people favored the North, 
even though the impossibility of obtaining cotton from 
America stopped the English factories and caused much 
suffering. The government declared officially that Eng- 
land would aid neither side. In the excitement of the 
times, each country committed an act that might easily 
have led to war. The American government discovered 
that the Confederacy, in an effort to secure the help of 



1861-1862] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 345 

the English, was sending to England two agents, named 
Mason and Slidell. They were on board a mail steamer, 
the Trent, but an enthusiastic American com- The Trent 
mander boarded her and seized the two men. affalr - 
England was in a ferment. Then rose John Bright 
"the great peace statesman," and told the nation that 
the American government would in all probability imme- 
diately disclaim responsibility for the act ; but that even 
if it did not, this seizure was not nearly so bad as scores 
of seizures that England herself had made before the 
War of 1 812. He reminded them that the United States 
had all it could attend to, and said : " Did you ever know 
anybody who was not very nearly dead drunk, who, hav- 
ing as much upon his hands as he could manage, would 
offer to fight everybody about him ? " This speech was 
made at a public banquet, and it was reported throughout 
the kingdom. The United States immediately declared 
that the seizure was made without the knowledge or 
approval of the government, and that episode was 
ended. 

The act of the British government that might have led 
to war was that, although England had declared that she 
was neutral, she allowed the Confederacy not 
only to fit out swift vessels for running the Alabama 
blockade and carrying arms and other things to 
the "South, but to build a privateer, the Alabama, to de- 
stroy the merchant vessels of the United States govern- 
ment. The Alabama was finally sunk by the Kearsarge, 
but not until after she had done an immense amount of 
damage. When the war was over, instead of the Ameri- 
can claims for damages being settled by force The Geneva 
of arms, an international court was held at award. 
Geneva to decide how far England was responsible for 
the harm done by the vessel. This court decreed that 



346 ENGLAND'S STORY [1868-1870 

$15,500,000 in gold was a fair recompense, and England 
paid the sum promptly to the United States. 

292. Board schools established. 1870. In the midst 
of the wars of the century, the question of educating the 
children was becoming more and more pressing. When 
Victoria first came to the throne, there were few schools 
in which children who could not pay tuition could be 
educated. Many people thought that the poor were 
meant to stay poor and do the hard work of the world. 
Others had tried to do what they could and had given 
generously. Perhaps the greatest gift of all was that of 
John Pounds, a shoemaker, who for many years taught 
poor children without charge ; five hundred in all he had 
saved from ignorance. The government had made some 
small appropriations for the schools, and the churches 
had done what they could ; but it was estimated that half 
the children in the kingdom had no opportunity to learn 
to read. At last the government began to realize that it 
is better to teach children to become good citizens than 
to punish them, when they have grown up, for being bad 
Theuniver- ones > and "board schools" were established, 
sities open An elementary education may now be obtained 
senters. free of charge. At about the same date, reli- 
1871 - gious educational freedom was granted, and 
then, for the first time, a Dissenter, that is, one who is 
not a member of the Church of England, could take a 
degree at Oxford or Cambridge. 

293. A Jewish prime minister. 1868. The jews 
had been treated more fairly in England than in other 
countries, but even in England they had not found 
justice. Edward I. had expelled them, and although 
Cromwell allowed them to return, they had never been 
able to enter Parliament, chiefly because they would be 
required to take an oath "on the faith of a Christian." 



1838-1869] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 347 

The Commons voted to modify this wording, but ten 

times the Lords refused to agree. At last, at the eleventh 

trial, the Lords yielded, and in 1838 a man of Hebrew 

birth became a member of Parliament. In 1868 „ 

Empress of 
he was made prime minister of England, and India. 

1877 

later received the title of Lord Beaconsfield. 

It was during his time of power that the queen was 

formally proclaimed Empress of India. 

294. Irish reforms. Throughout the reign of Vic- 
toria, the " Irish question " was a pressing matter. One 
difficulty after another rose and " would not down." 
After Daniel O'Connell's success in securing parliament- 
ary representation for Roman Catholics, he aimed at 
nothing less than a free Parliament for Ireland and a 
separation from England. What might have been the 
result if the life of this earnest, eloquent, enthusiastic 
leader of the people had been prolonged, it is not easy to 
say. 

One great cause of complaint in Ireland was that all 
inhabitants, of whatever church, were taxed to support 
the Episcopal church. Another was the famous "land 
question." Vast areas of Irish land were owned by Eng- 
lish who, perhaps, had never been in Ireland, and had 
no further interest in the country than to see that the 
agents were prompt in forwarding their rents. A tenant 
might be driven from his farm at any moment. If he 
drained a swamp or cleared a bit of land from stumps 
and stones, his rent would be raised because the land had 
become more valuable. Ireland found a friend 

Gladstone. 

in William Ewart Gladstone, a man who, as 
chancellor of the exchequer and prime minister, was for 
more than forty years the most prominent statesman in 
England. Under his leadership a law was made that the 
Irish should not be taxed to support the Episcopal 



34* 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[i 870-1899 




WILLIAM EWART GLADSTONE. 



"Home 
Rule." 



church. Gladstone also 
succeeded in carrying 
through a law that the 
tenant should be paid for 
making improvements, 
and that if he paid his 
rent he should not be 
driven from his farm at 
the whim of the landlord. 
This law was good, but 
the landlords found ways 
of evading it. Then a 
strong party arose in Ire- 
land demanding "Home 
should rule herself. The 
Stuart Parnell. He was a 



Parnell. 



Rule," that is, that Ireland 

leader was Charles 

calm, cool man, but many of his followers were 
hot-headed and violent ; and when he and Gladstone did 
not work in accord, there were murders and other crimes 
in Ireland, and there was fierce vengeance on the part 

of the English government. In spite of this, 

Gladstone still struggled in behalf of Irish home 
rule, but though the bill was finally passed by the Com- 
mons, it was defeated by the Lords. Within the last 
four years, an improved land bill has been passed, and a 
kind of local self-government has been established in 
Ireland by which each little district elects a council to 
manage its local affairs. 

295. The Boer War. 1899. During Victoria's reign, 
England fought not only in China, the Crimea, and India, 
but now, at the very beginning of the twentieth century, 
she is fighting in South Africa. Cape Colony was origi- 
nally settled by the Dutch, and its people are called Boers, 
the Dutch word for farmers. In the course of the wars 



1834-1880] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 



349 



with Napoleon, this land fell into the hands of the Eng- 
lish. The Boers did not like English rule, and three 
times they abandoned their homes and went farther into 
the wilderness, — to Natal, to the Orange Free State, 
and to the Transvaal. 

About thirty years after this last removal, some of the 




MAP OF BRITISH-BOER WAR 



people in the Transvaal asked England for help in their 
wars with the natives ; and a little later England declared 
that the Transvaal had become a part of the British em- 
pire. The Boers did not agree and began war ; Ma j Ul)a 
and in 1880 came the fearful slaughter of the HiU - 188 °- 
British at Majuba Hill. Peace was made, giving free- 
dom to the Boers in all matters of local government. 

Then gold was discovered in the Transvaal, and this 
new interest brought swarms of people, chiefly English, 



350 ENGLAND'S STORY [1901 

to that country. The Boers wished to have their land to 
themselves, while the English, whether they came to stay 
or merely to make their fortunes and go home, demanded 
all the rights of permanent citizens. The Boers refused, 
and declared war against England. The English thought 
at first that it would be a small matter to suppress the 
little Dutch country ; but they were obliged to put into 
the field a larger number of soldiers than they had ever 
had in arms before. In 1902, the Boers yielded after a 
a bitter struggle, and the Orange Free State and the 
Transvaal fell under English rule. 

296. The British Empire. In all the history of do. 
minion, there is, perhaps, nothing more astounding than 
the fact that part of one small island, almost without allies 
or even well-wishers in her conquests, should have made 
herself mistress of wide possessions in Europe, Asia, 
Africa, America, and Australasia, and should have estab- 
lished her control over nine and one-half times as many 
people as there are in Great Britain and Ireland. Eng- 
land's colonial expansion during the reign of Victoria is 
one of the marvels of a marvelous age. In America, 
save for the addition of the islands lying to the north of 
Hudson Bay, the territories of England have but slightly 
increased during the last eighty years ; but vast areas of 
land in western, southern, and eastern Africa have fallen 
under English sway, as has also an extensive Indian em- 
pire, only a small portion of which belonged to England 
at the accession of Victoria. New Zealand, Tasmania, 
and a few settlements in southeastern Australia were in 
1837 the limit of England's possessions in Australasia, 
where her rule now extends over five millions of people. 

The feeling of England toward her colonies has under- 
gone a great change in the last century. One hundred 



19th Century] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 351 

years ago she regarded a colony as a community to be 
despoiled, so far as it might be done under pretense of 
law and without revolt. Fifty years later, a colony was 
to her an encumbrance which she was obliged to treat 
with some show of interest and fairness, but upon which 
favor would be wasted, since the natural course of a 
colony would be to cut loose from the mother country. 
Very different is her present feeling. England now 
looks upon her colonial possessions with pride in their 
growth, an increasing confidence in their loyalty, and a 
realization that in the united allegiance of her widely 
separated dominions must lie her strength. 

297. Inventions of the century. The nineteenth 
century was an age of marvels, and if a man who lived 
in 1800 could visit the world to-day, he would almost 
fancy that witchcraft had been at work. He would find 
that he could see a great deal more. The improved tele- 
scope would show him what had been mysterious because 
it was so far away, and the microscope what had been 
unsuspected because it was so small, while the x-rays 
would enable him to look through solid substances. He 
would find, moreover, that by means of the telephone 
he could hear much farther. In 1800 the only way to 
obtain a portrait was by long, wearisome sittings with 
an artist ; to-day we ask a ray of light to help us, and 
in a moment we have a photograph. When the man 
of 1800 wished to forward an important message, he 
sent a courier on horseback. We use the telegraph, 
but we complain of the clumsiness of the slender wire 
and long for a general adoption of " wireless telegraphy." 
The man of 1800 made his journeys in a stage coach. 
We are a little inclined to grumble at a speed of fifty 
miles an hour. We speak of the industrial revolution of 
one century ago, but we have an industrial revolu- 



352 



ENGLANDS STORY 



[19th Century 




CHARLES DICKENS 



tion almost every day 
in the discovery of 
some new process of 
manufacturing ; and 
almost before the in- 
vention is fairly chroni- 
cled, a greater one has 
taken its place. The 
man of 1800 had done 
his work by the strength 
of his own right arm, 
and was feeling as if 
the world was over- 
thrown by the intro- 
duction of steam-driven 
machinery. We are finding that electricity can do more 
than steam, and we are experimenting eagerly with com- 
pressed air. Who can tell what will be the motive power 
of the future ? We are quite accustomed to impossibil- 
ities, and what would have been to the man of 1800 only 
a wild flight of the imagi- 
nation is to us but the 
merest commonplace of 
every day. 

298. The literature of 
Victoria's reign. It is not 
difficult to look back upon 
a century that is long past 
and see who were the 
greatest writers, but the 
Victorian age is so near 
that we cannot always dis- 
tinguish the books that 
m\\ last from those that 




LORD TENNYSON 



1 9th Century] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 



353 



are liked for a moment and then forgotten. The great 
events of the Elizabethan period stimulated the imagina- 
tion ; but the marvellous inventions of our own time are 
just as exciting. To-day education is far more general. 
Every one wishes to write, and in this mass of writing 
there is much that is really excellent. To select from 
the long list of authors that seem to be great is not easy. 
Tennyson is perhaps the first of the poets. Among 
historians, the name of Macaulay is most familiar to the 
English people as a whole, 
partly because he wrote 
a history of their own 
land, but chiefly because 
his style is so clear and 
interesting that his books 
are easy to read. 

Among the books of 
whose making there is 
no end, the novel holds 
the most prominent place. 
Scott, Dickens, Thacke- 
ray, and " George Eliot " 
have long been our best 

known writers of fiction, four authors who are so dis- 
similar that the popularity of all is, in itself, a proof that 
the novel is enjoyed by all kinds of people. But the 
object of the novel of to-day is not merely to give plea- 
sure. Fiction is no longer a source of amusement and 
nothing more ; it has become a useful servant. If one 
would bring forward some new theory, he is sure of a 
wide reading if he can embody it in an interesting story. 
If a new play is needed, a popular novel is dramatized. 
If the average man would read history, he is inclined to 
seek the historical novel ; and frequently, for his religion 




LORD MACAULAY 



354 ENGLAND'S STORY [ 19th Centurj 

he is wont to imitate the idealized hero of some work of 
the imagination. More than one clergyman has left the 
pulpit that by bringing forward his ideas in story form 
he might preach truth to thousands instead of to hun- 
dreds. 

Whither this tendency will lead us is a question. 
Who shall say, for instance, whether the present popu- 
larity of the novel whose whole attention is given to its 
hero, indicates some glorious future development of the 
power to delineate character, or whether the frequent 
carelessness of the rest of the book betokens a step in 
the path that leads away from literary merit ? Perhaps 
the most excellent feature of this ascendency of the novel 
is that we require our fiction to be true to life. Adven- 
tures must be probable, characters must be consistent, 
and the historical novel, if it would have more than a 
passing fame, must be the work of the student as well as 
the teller of stories. 

299. Influence of Queen Victoria. There were 
world-stirring events during the life of Queen Victoria, 
but no one of them held so steadily the interest and 
attention of the English-speaking world as did the queen 
herself. The lives of few sovereigns have been as open 
as hers in every act, almost in every thought. We know 
her from the time when her only responsibility was the 
care of her great family of wooden dolls to the sad Jan- 
uary day of 1 90 1 when her life came to its close. Only 
four short years after the dolls were packed away, the 
young girl whose every motion had been watched, whose 
every thought had been guided, must stand alone at the 
head of a kingdom, so much alone that even the mother 
could not come to the daughter's door save by request 
of the queen. 

Her twenty years of marriage with Prince Albert were 



[837-i9 OI J THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 



355 



the happiest period of her life, and at his death her sor- 
row was so overwhelming and so enduring that her 
people felt almost impatient with her avoidance of all 
social life. Neither grief nor weariness, however, was 
allowed to interfere with the hard work which, from the 
beginning of her reign to its close, she felt was de- 
manded by her position. One of her prime ministers 
is said to have 
declared that 
he "would rather 
manage ten kings 
than one queen," 
for she would do 
nothing for expe- 
diency and would 
sign no papers 
that she did not 
understand. In 
the year of the 
Chartist excite- 
ment, for instance, 
every one of the 
28,000 despatches 
that came to the 
foreign office 

passed through her hands and engaged her thoughts. It 
was no easy life that she led. 

In her reign there were "wars and rumors of wars," 
but the influence of Victoria herself was always for peace. 
In the dark days of the Civil War in America, it was in 
great measure the firm hand of the queen that kept Eng- 
land anywhere near the course of neutrality that the 
country had promised. It was the queen, advised by 
Prince Albert, who insisted upon the courtesy and 




EDWARD VII. 



356 ENGLAND'S STORY [1901-1904 

moderation of the demand made by the English govern- 
ment for the restoration of the Confederate passengers 
of the Trent, and it was she who urged arbitration rather 
than war when the question of the "Alabama claims" 
must be decided. In her the Hanoverian obstinacy and 
corruptness are replaced by firmness and purity. The 
story is handed down from her childhood days that when 
she was first told that some day she would be queen of 
England, she said earnestly, " I will be good." Marcus 
Aurelius says that it is " hard to be good in a palace" ; 
but Queen Victoria showed by her sixty-three years in 
"that fierce light which beats upon a throne" that this 
childish promise was as sacred to her as the solemn oath 
of her coronation. 

36. Edward VII. 1901-1910 

300. Events abroad and at home. She was suc- 
ceeded by her son, Albert Edward, who reigned as 
Edward VII, and who in his first council declared, "I 
need hardly say that my constant endeavor will be to 
walk in her footsteps." 

During the nine years of his' reign, several import- 
ant events took place. In the last days of Victoria's 
sovereignty, the Australian colonies formed a federation. 
They are under the British crown, but they have an in- 
dependent parliament much like that of Canada. After 
Edward came to the throne, the Transvaal Republic and 
the Orange River Free State became British colonies. 
They have representative institutions similar to those 
of Cape Colony and Natal. 

Quite as important as these events are the two treat- 
ies between Great Britain and Japan. The first was 
signed just before the opening of the Russo-Japanese 
war. It bound England to help Japan if she was at- 



1904-1905] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 357 

tacked by any two nations. No European government 
therefore cared to help Russia against Japan, and so 
Japan was free to crush her enemy by superior skill in 
the art of war. Her victory prevented Russia from 
establishing herself on the Pacific south of Vladivostock 
and gave Japan practical control of Korea and an import- 
ant part of Manchuria. The second treaty was signed 
while the Japanese and Russian envoys were discussing 
terms of peace at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. This 
provides that Great Britain and Japan shall stand to- 
gether if their interests in the East are endangered by 
any other nation. The Japanese are a most progressive 
people, and therefore this treaty ensures progress to the 
countries under their control. It is of fully as much 
value to England, for by it the power of Russia is crip- 
pled, and therefore England is free to develop commer- 
cially India and her other eastern possessions. In one 
respect the treaty is of value to the whole commercial 
world, for it helps to ensure to all nations what is known 
as the " Open Door," that is, the equal right to trade 
with all countries that are under Japanese control. 

The most noteworthy event in British domestic affairs 
was the complete overthrow of the Conservative Govern- 
ment. This Government represented what was known as 
the Unionist Party. It had been formed by a union of the 
Conservative with many of the Liberal and Independent 
voters in opposition to a policy which in their opinion 
might imperil the present union between Great Britain 
and Ireland. This coalition failed to endure because : 

1. Liberal and Independent voters disapproved of the 
Conservative Education Act, which obliged many Dis- 
senters to send their children to Episcopal schools. 

2. The same body of voters, and many Conservative 
voters also, disapproved of the attempt to place duties 



358 ENGLAND'S STORY [1906-1910 

upon imports, and thus break down Great Britain's set- 
tled policy of free trade. 

The general election of 1906 was carried by the Lib- 
erals with a large majority of votes. Nearly fifty mem- 
bers were elected to represent the Labor Party. They 
were charged by their constituents with the care of the 
interests of the working classes. 

Among the social and economic questions to be con- 
sidered were the welfare of coal miners, of children, and 
of the aged. Laws were passed limiting the day's work 
of miners underground to eight hours. The " Children's 
Act " aimed at preventing cruelty to children, at separat- 
ing those who have been guilty of misdemeanors from 
older offenders, and at preventing the selling of liquor 
and cigarettes to children. The aged were helped by the 
passage of a law giving five shillings a week to worthy, 
industrious people of seventy years or over, who have 
lived in the United Kingdom at least twenty years, pro- 
vided their income does not exceed ^31 10s. a year. 
This Government is opposed to continuing the special 
privileges which place political control in the hands of 
powerful families and classes. It stands for free trade, 
religious freedom in education, and a progressive domes- 
tic policy in all matters that concern the welfare of the 
people. 

The Old- Age Pension called for a great deal of money. 
This the Government proposed to raise by increasing the 
income tax, the price of liquor licenses, and the duties 
on spirits and tobacco ; and by taxing heavily land whose 
value had increased simply by its location and without 
cost to the owner. 

37. George V. 1910- 
301. Recent years. King Edward died early in 19 10, 



1911-1912] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 



359 



one week after giving his assent to this bill, and was suc- 
ceeded by his son, as George V. The opposition which 
the bill had met in the House of Lords brought about 
the "Parliament Bill," to forbid the Lords from taking 
any share in legis- 
lation concerning 
money matters ; 
and to deprive 
them of the power 
of veto. The pas- 
sage of this bill, 
in 191 1, has been 
called "the great- 
est political crisis 
in Great Britain 
since the passage 
of the Reform Bill 
in 1832." 

In November, 
191 1, King George 
and Queen Mary 
visited India in 

their official capacity as Emperor and Empress. This was 
the first visit ever paid to the Indian dominions of Britain 
by a reigning British sovereign and his consort. 

In 191 2 the Government introduced a bill to establish 
a separate parliament in Ireland, and to reduce the Irish 
representation in the Imperial Parliament at Westmin- 
ster. The Irish Nationalists desired this independence, 
but the Unionists of Ulster, being mostly of Scotch- 
English descent, and Protestant, strongly opposed it. 
The bill passed the Commons, but was rejected by the 
Lords. 

Further efforts were made this same year to readjust 




GEORGE v. 



36o ENGLAND'S STORY [1911-1913 

and proportion the representation in the House of 
Commons. A Government bill was introduced with an 
amendment to grant representation to women. This was 
opposed, and in 191 3 the bill was withdrawn; but the 
organized efforts of the women of the kingdom to obtain 
the suffrage still persisted. 

Among the progressive measures passed by this Parlia- 
ment was the establishment of a minimum wage for all 
miners throughout the kingdom, the exact amount being 
left to the decision of district boards in the different local- 
ities. This Minimum Wage Act was the direct result of 
a great coal strike in 191 1. At the beginning of 1912 the 
national Post Office took over control of the entire tele- 
phone system of the country. In the same year a bill was 
introduced in the House of Commons to disestablish, and 
partially disendow, the Church of England in Wales, 
many of the Welsh being of other religious denomina- 
tions. 

Of late years, world-wide interest has been felt in Arc- 
tic and Antarctic exploration, and several British expedi- 
tions have gone to the Antarctic. One, sent out in 1901, 
by the Royal Geographical Society and the Government, 
and commanded by Captain Robert Falcon Scott of the 
Royal Navy, discovered new lands and brought back valu- 
able geographical data. Later, Lieutenant Ernest Shac- 
kleton (since knighted), who had been with Captain Scott, 
equipped an expedition of his own and went to within one 
hundred and eleven miles of the Pole. In 1909, Robert 
E. Peary, of the United States Navy, later rear-admiral, 
made his ninth Arctic expedition, and succeeded in reach- 
ins: the Pole. Interest now turned to the south, and the 
next year, 1910, five different expeditions of all nations 
went to the Antarctic, and among them one under Captain 
Scott. In November of 191 1, Scott and his party left their 



1911-1914] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 36 1 

ship and started for the South Pole by sledges, overland. 
Twelve months later, a rescue party from the ship found 
Captain Scott and four of his companions dead in camp. 
They had perished in a blizzard while on their way back 
to the coast. According to their records, carefully kept, 
they had reached the South Pole the 18th of January, 
but only to find the Norwegian flag flying over the icy 
plain. Captain Roald Amundsen had been there almost 
exactly a month before them. 

302. The beginning of the World War. In 19 14 the 
World War broke out, caused by the schemes of Ger- 
many. For many years Germany had been plotting to 
form a " middle Europe" empire, consisting of a vast 
sweep of country stretching from the Baltic Sea to the 
Persian Gulf. With this under her sway she could open 
the fertile regions of Asia to her crowded citizens, and 
she could control the trade of the East. Her designs ex- 
tended even further than this, for she plotted to crush 
France, then England, then Russia, then the Western 
Continent. 

In preparation for the short, ruthless war by which she 
expected to bring this to pass, she had doubled her navy 
and made it larger than that of any other country except 
England; she had deepened the Kiel Canal in order to 
permit the passage of the largest warships from the Baltic 
to the North Sea; she had partly built a railroad that was 
to run from Berlin to Bagdad; and she had made numer- 
ous other railroads to strategic points. Her army had 
been more than doubled; enormous quantities of guns and 
ammunition and hospital supplies had been made ready. 
The Triple Alliance — of Germany, Austria-Hungary, 
and Italy — had been formed, by which each country 
agreed to come to the rescue if either of the other two 
was attacked; and she had made friends with Turkey. 



362 ENGLAND'S STORY [1914 

The Germans were also well prepared in mind, for, 
under the influence of Prussia, they had been taught that 
might makes right, and that the world belongs to the 
strongest. School-children recited in their geography 
classes, "Our country is surrounded by cruel and envious 
nations." Such were Germany's preparations for the 
conquest of the world. She regarded England as espe- 
cially dangerous to her plans; therefore her hatred was 
lavished upon England. The German navy had long been 
drinking toasts to "The Day "; that is, the day when the 
new German fleet should destroy the British Navy and 
the British Empire. 

When a nation is determined to fight, a cause is easy to 
find. In this instance it was the assassination in Bosnia 
of the nephew of the Emperor of Austria-Hungary. The 
double kingdom declared that Serbian influence had 
brought about this murder, and made most insolent de- 
mands upon Serbia. The little country yielded every- 
thing that a country could and still retain her self-respect, 
and she offered to leave any disputed point to the deci- 
sion of the Hague Tribunal. 

By this time it was evident to the world that Germany 
was pulling the wires. Russia had made it plain that she 
would defend Serbia. Some years earlier England, Rus- 
sia, and France had made an informal alliance called the 
Triple Entente, that is, the triple understanding or agree- 
ment. Its object was to preserve the balance of power in 
Europe against the Triple Alliance. Russians and Serb- 
ians were both Slavs, and Russia would stand by Serbia. 
France would stand by Russia; but Germany auda- 
ciously hoped that England could be kept out of the 
conflict, and she actually proposed that England should 
not interfere with German attacks upon France, pro- 
vided French territory was not seized. Concerning 



1914] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 3^3 

French colonies she would say nothing. Sir Edward Grey, 
English Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, replied 
disdainfully that if England should make such a bar- 
gain as that, her good name would never recover from 
the disgrace. Sir Edward and the governments of other 
European countries did everything in their power to 
prevent war, but in vain; August i, 1914, Germany de- 
clared war against Russia. The flame was kindled, and 
Europe was given over to the most terrible conflict of all 

time. 

303. The Germans violate Belgium. In order to avoid 
the line of forts on the boundary between Germany and 
France, Germany had, in planning the war, determined to 
go through Belgium. Now Belgium was a " neutralized " 
country; that is, she had agreed in case of war to remain 
neutral. In return, England, Russia, France, and Prussia 
(now a part of Germany) had agreed to protect her ter- 
ritory from invasion. Nevertheless, the German Chan- 
cellor was amazed that "just for a scrap of paper" — 
that is, the treaty — England should be ready to go to 



war. 



Germany requested Belgium to allow the German 
troops to pass through her land, on the threat of treating 
her as an enemy. Brave little Belgium refused to "sacri- 
fice the honor of the nation" and to betray her duties 
as a neutral toward Europe; and on August 4 Germany 
declared war against the little country. On the same day 
England declared war against Germany. Her reasons 
were: first, to keep her word to Belgium; second, to stand 
by her agreement with France; third, to protect herself. 

The German troops in their gray-green uniforms 
streamed through the tiny neutralized duchy of Luxem- 
burg and into Belgium, aiming first at Liege because 
German railroads passed through that city. Liege finally 



364 ENGLAND'S STORY [1914-1915 

fell, but Belgium's stout-hearted resistance had given 
time for France to mobilize her forces and for England to 
send across the Channel what the Kaiser called her "con- 
temptible little army." 

The Germans now marched rapidly into France, until 
they were only twenty-three miles from Paris. They did 
not know it, but they had come to the very place which 
General Joffre, commander of the French troops, had 
chosen for an engagement. This was the battle of the 
Marne, not one battle, but a series of combats over a 
battle-line one hundred and forty miles long. The Ger- 
man army was forced to retreat to the banks of the Aisne 
River, and Paris was saved. 

It was plain that a bitter war was upon Europe, and 
England set to work to raise and train an army. This 
task was put into the hands of Lord Kitchener, and with 
rare ability he proceeded to make "Kitchener's Mob," as 
its members nicknamed themselves, into "Kitchener's 
Army." 

Soon two irregular lines of trenches were formed ex- 
tending from the sea to Switzerland, the Germans occu- 
pying one, the French and English the other. The Ger- 
mans made a desperate effort to break through to Calais, 
and so isolate France from England, but they were re- 
pulsed by the English at Ypres. In the spring of 191 5 they 
tried again. Germany had not expected England's col- 
onies to stand by her; but they had rallied nobly to the 
help of the Mother Country, and here at Ypres Canadians 
and England's Indian troops, in spite of the terrible sur- 
prise of poison gas, drove the Germans to the eastward. 

The report of this use of poison gas was hardly believed 
at first, neither was that of the awful tortures, the star- 
vation and murder of the Belgians by the Germans; but 
soon it was proved, not only that these reports were true, 



1914-1915] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 365 

but that the crimes were committed by the strict orders 
of the German government, under the rather remarkable 
plea that the more savagely war was waged, the sooner it 
would come to an end, and that, therefore, suffering 
would be prevented! In one respect, however, the in- 
vaders were helpless. Cardinal Mercier, Primate of the 
suffering country, declared openly to his people that the 
government of King Albert was the only one to which 
they owed allegiance. The Germans did not dare to im- 
prison him, for fear of the wrath of the Roman Catholics 
of Germany, and they had to let this one fearless man 
speak as he would. 

Not all the fighting was done on what came to be 
known as the Western Front. Russia had promptly in- 
vaded Prussia, and had thus drawn some of the German 
troops away from France. On the other hand, Turkey 
had entered the war on the side of Germany. 

At the end of 19 14 Germany held nearly all of Belgium, 
about one tenth of France, the portion which contained 
her iron and coal and her largest factories. On both the 
Western and the Eastern Fronts the war seemed to have 
come to a deadlock. What would the next year's cam- 
paign bring forth? 

304. The year 1915. The Dardanelles Expedition. 
As a member of the Triple Alliance Italy had agreed to 
stand by Germany in case that country was attacked. 
Germany herself had begun the war; early in 191 5, there- 
fore, Italy joined the Allies. Another reason for Italy's 
siding with the Triple Entente was her hope of recovering 
from Austria some districts about Trieste and the Tren- 
tino, inhabited chiefly by Italians. Just resentment 
against Austria had been felt by Italy, especially since 
1908, when Austria's schemes of empire so clearly op- 
posed Italy's interests. 



366 ENGLAND'S STORY [191 5 

The Russians were doing finely and were excellent sol- 
diers, but they needed arms and ammunition. If the 
Allies could only get control of the Dardanelles, then held 
by the Turks, supplies could be sent and Turkey would 
be cut off from her friends. Also, the great harvests of Rus- 
sian wheat could be shipped to the Allies. Therefore, a 
naval expedition was sent against the strait; but, as the 
military experts say, first-class coast defenses can resist 
the attacks of any fleet, and the strait was not taken. 
The next plan was to land an army at Suvla Bay, on the 
long, narrow peninsula of Gallipoli which forms the west- 
ern shore of the strait. Such a landing as it was! The 
beaches were of fine, slippery sand. The cliffs rose steeply 
behind them, and in holes in these cliffs and at the top 
were machine guns, for the Turks had been carefully 
trained by the Germans in all the latest methods of war- 
fare. The troops of the expedition were French, English, 
Irish, Indian, and "Anzac," or " Australia-New Zealand 
Army Corps," and they dashed up the cliffs as if they were 
having the best time in their lives. There were no cowards 
at Suvla Bay. But flies and poor water brought on sick- 
ness. The lack of auxiliary forces on land and the mistakes 
of the politicians at home made victory impossible. This 
failure decided Bulgaria to side with the Central Powers, 
and she now joined them in a successful attack upon 
Serbia. 

The year 191 5 was a hard one for the Allies. On the 
Western Front there was little change. On the Eastern 
Front Germany had driven the Russians back, and had 
subdued Serbia. The Turks still held Constantinople. 
Japan had taken Kiaochau in China, and Japan and Eng- 
land had taken nearly all of Germany's colonies; this 
might count for little, however, since, if Germany won 
the war, she could easily recover them. 






1916] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 367 

305. The victories of 1916. The most important 
events of 19 16 were the siege of Verdun, the battle of the 
Somme, and the naval battle of Jutland. 

Verdun is not merely a fortified town, but a wide area 
of land with gunpits and fortifications at every turn, 
cunningly hidden from view, but commanding every 
approach. Fortifications on the surrounding hills stand 
guard over the place. Trenches and barbed-wire entan- 
glements were of course added. Underground there are 
tunnels, galleries, winding staircases, and rooms without 
number. Verdun is the key to Western France, and for 
six months the Crown Prince of Germany tried his best 
to capture it, but was repulsed by the valor of the French 
under General Petain. 

Meanwhile Sir Douglas Haig, now in command of the 
English forces, was quietly making ready to attack the 
German line at the Somme River. England had been 
making "tanks," lumbering, armored monsters that 
waddled about carrying death and destruction wherever 
they went; and in this battle they made their first ap- 
pearance. The struggle at the Somme did not drive the 
Germans out of France, but it did keep them from Verdun. 

At the beginning of the war a German squadron was in 
the Pacific Ocean and two vessels in the Mediterranean. 
The Pacific squadron, after destroying some smaller 
British warships, was itself destroyed by the British off 
the Falkland Islands. The two vessels in the Mediter- 
ranean escaped to Constantinople and were sold to the 
Turks. A few German raiders, especially the Emden, did 
much damage before they were sunk. 

Germany's submarine warfare was carried on with no 
regard for the agreements of The Hague or for common 
humanity. She rarely found it convenient to give any 
warning or to save the crews of the unarmed merchant- 



368 ENGLAND'S STORY [1916 

men that her submarines attacked; therefore they were 
left to perish, and many a time were fired on as they 
struggled to escape in the small boats of their vessels. On 
May 7, 191 5, a German submarine sank the Lusitania, a 
great passenger steamer, and 1 153 of her passengers, women 
and children as well as men, were drowned. Germany de- 
clared indifferently that England was trying to starve her 
out by a blockade, and so she was forced to retaliate. 

The naval base of the English battle fleet was at Scapa 
Flow, in the Orkney Islands; that of the Germans was at 
Wilhelmshaven on the Baltic. A few raids on the English 
coast resulted in the loss of German ships; and a fight in 
Heligoland Bight brought another German defeat. None 
of these naval actions, however, were of great effect. The 
British battleships frequently swept the North Sea in 
search of the main force of the Germans, and at last, at 
noon of one day in May, 191 6, the British sailors were de- 
lighted to discover a formidable German fleet cruising 
in the North Sea. Admiral Beatty, in command of the 
British advance force, sent messages by wireless to Ad- 
miral Sir John Jellicoe, one hundred miles away, and 
began to fight. Just before six o'clock Admiral Jellicoe 
and his battleships — the most powerful afloat — entered 
the engagement. The Germans fought furiously, but see- 
ing that there was no hope of victory, they fled in the fog 
and darkness. To follow them into their mine-strewn areas 
would have been folly, especially as they could slip through 
the Kiel Canal, while the English ships in order to reach 
them would have had to pass through the narrow channel 
between Sweden and Denmark; so the English waited till 
morning. When morning came not a German vessel was 
to be seen. Such was the famous battle of Jutland. While 
the British lost many ships and men, they inflicted such 
losses upon the Germans, both in material and in morale, 



1916-1917] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 369 

that never again did the German navy venture to leave 
its shelter. 

Only a few days after the battle of Jutland the vessel 
was sunk on which Lord Kitchener was going on a mission 
to Russia, and he was drowned. His place in the Cabinet 
as Secretary of War was now taken by Mr. Lloyd George. 
Mr. Asquith, Premier, wisely decided that as the whole 
nation was in such difficulties, all parties should be repre- 
sented in the Government, and this was done. Toward 
the end of the year Mr. Asquith was succeeded by Mr. 
Lloyd George. 

During 1916 the Allies had the advantage at Verdun, 
on the Somme, and in the North Sea, and the Russians 
made a furious drive into Galicia. On the other hand, an 
English expedition against the Turks in Mesopotamia 
failed, and Rumania, which had at length joined the 
Allies, was crushed. 

306. Gains and losses of 1917. Germany's piratical 
submarine warfare, her treacherous attempts to make 
trouble in the United States and to involve the country 
in difficulties with Mexico and Japan, caused America to 
join the Allies. The United States could provide money 
and munitions, its navy was ready, and ships were 
promptly at work helping to destroy the deadly sub- 
marines. The selective draft was put into operation, and 
many training camps were established. The first Ameri- 
can troops reached France in October. 

On the Western Front, near Ypres, the British took 
Vimy Ridge, the Canadian troops pushing irresistibly 
over the top. A little later the British at Messines 
Ridge dug under the German works and blew them up by 
the most terrible mine explosion ever known. 

Now came what was really the beginning of the final 
retreat of the Germans, for they withdrew many miles and 



370 ENGLAND'S STORY [1917 

took up a new position that could be more easily defended, 
the "Hindenburg Line," as it was called, because General 
Hindenburg was in command. 

The Italians meanwhile were having a hard time. Their 
" Front" was longer than the whole Western Front. 
Their soldiers fought in the burning heat of the valleys 
and in the bitter cold of trenches dug out of snow and ice 
high among the Alps. In the autumn of 191 7 they pushed 
on till they were only ten miles from Trieste ; but toward 
the end of the year the Austrians drove them into a slow 
retreat which they conducted with the utmost skill. As 
soon as the Italians reached the Piave River, however, 
where they could make a stand, they turned upon their 
foes and halted the invasion until Allied troops could be 
sent to their aid. 

In the East the British captured Bagdad and, under 
Sir Edmund Allenby, took Jerusalem, which had been in 
the hands of the Mohammedans for nearly all of thirteen 
centuries. 

Country after country had joined the Allies, but Russia 
was lost to them. To win their liberty and fair treatment 
the Russians had revolted against the Czar's government; 
but liberty was so new to them that they did not know what 
to do with it, and largely through the intrigues of German 
spies Russia fell into the hands of one party, the Bolshe- 
viki. The Germans took Riga and threatened Petrograd. 
The country had crumbled, and early in 1918, at Brest- 
Litovsk, a treaty was made with Germany which was in 
reality a complete surrender of Russia. 

During 191 7 Germany and Austria had made gains in 
Italy, and Russia had fallen to pieces. On -the other hand, 
the United States had entered the war, the Allies had 
gained on the Western Front, and had won important 
victories in Mesopotamia and Palestine, 



1917-1918] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 37 1 

307. The war comes to an end. Through the win- 
ter of 19 1 7-18 the Germans were preparing for a drive on 
the Western Front. This began in March. The Allies 
were in need of troops and so could only stand on the 
defensive. Their line was broken through, and the Ger- 
mans pushed on to Chateau-Thierry, forty miles from 
Paris. Here the American marines, regulars, and the 
new civilian army made a stand that put a stop to their 
advance. 

From the beginning of the war the Allies had been 
working under one great disadvantage, namely, each 
country's troops had their own separate commander, 
while the Germans were under one control. It began to 
be plain to every one that the Allied troops must be under 
one man, and now the English and French, and also the 
Americans, who had in June an army of more than one 
million men in France, put themselves under the com- 
mand of General Foch of France. 

In July General Foch was ready to make a drive. His 
idea of a drive, however, was quite different from that of 
the Germans. They struck, then prepared, then struck 
again, and so on. General Foch's idea was to keep on 
striking all the time, first in one place, then in another, 
keeping the enemy under constant strain in the uncer- 
tainty of where his next blow would fall. 

In September the Germans were driven back to the 
Hindenburg Line, which they had formed in 191 7. The 
end was near. After nine weeks of General Foch's ham- 
mering, this line was crumbling. Enormous numbers of 
German prisoners and vast quantities of supplies were 
captured, Japan was winning victories in Siberia and 
England in Palestine. On the Italian Front the Allies 
were rapidly gaining. Bulgaria and Austria begged for 
peace. Turkey was helpless. Germany asked for an 



372 ENGLAND'S STORY [1918-1920 

armistice, which was declared November 11, 19 18. Its 
terms were severe, for that country had shown herself so 
treacherous a foe that the power to renew warfare could 
not safely be left in her hands. 

A few days before the armistice the Kaiser as a last 
resort ordered the fleet to attack the English. This was 
refused, and revolution swept rapidly through Germany. 
The Kaiser fled to Holland. 

308. The Treaty of Versailles. Early in 19 19 repre- 
sentatives of the Allied countries prepared the Treaty of 
Versailles. According to the terms of this treaty Ger- 
many must give up Alsace and that part of Lorraine 
which she had taken from France in the war of 1870; she 
must greatly reduce her military and naval forces, and 
must, as far as possible, pay for the damage that she had 
caused. To make it impossible for her to evade these 
requirements, troops of the Allies were to occupy her ter- 
ritories as far as the Rhine River. So ended the most 
terrible war of all time. 

During this war Great Britain raised for the army 
alone a volunteer force of 5,041,000 men. This does not 
include conscripts, marines, or aviation forces, or even 
one man from the British Empire overseas. Indeed, the 
whole population was at work for the country in one 
way or another. Great Britain moved 200,000,000 tons 
of oil, coal, and stores wherever they were most needed. 
She moved 2,000,000 horses and mules and almost 27,- 
000,000 persons to the various fronts. Her vessels car- 
ried nearly half of all the imports that went into France 
and Italy. They carried 700,000 American troops across 
the ocean. It is a wonderful record. 

308. Recent legislation. Parliament has recently 
passed several acts of importance not pertaining to the 
war. According to one of these, better arrangements for 



i 9 2o] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 373 

fair representation were made, and the franchise was 
given to women over thirty years of age. The Education 
Act made elementary and continuation schools free, and 
decreed that children who left school before they were 
sixteen must, until they were eighteen, spend a certain 
number of hours each year in a continuation school. 

In the hope of preventing future wars, a League of 
Nations was formed by twenty-six of the twenty-eight 
Allied and Associated Powers. The first meeting was 
held in Geneva, November, 1920. 

SUMMARY 

The position of both Sovereign and House of Lords has 
undergone steady change, and the real power lies to-day with 
the House of Commons. _ 

In Victoria's reign the result of the Chartist agitation, the 
repeal of the corn laws, and the admission of Jews to Parlia- 
ment gave increased freedom to many thousand people, and 
"board schools" made it possible for many more children to 
obtain an education. 

In King Edward's reign, the overthrow of the Conservative 
Government and the general election of 1906 resulted in giving 
a generous Parliamentary representation to the Labor party. 
The eicrht-hour law for miners underground was passed ; ilso 
laws providing for the welfare of children, and pensioning the 
worthy aged among the poor. 

In King George's reign, through the passage of the Parlia- 
ment Bill* 9 the House of Lords was deprived of its power to 
stop progressive legislation. The Minimum Wage Act was 
passed, national control of public service advanced a step, 
and religious freedom was still further considered. 

A certain measure of self-government has been granted to 
Ireland through district elections. But the larger question of 
Home Rule has been continually coming to the front. A bill 
to establish an Irish Parliament was twice defeated (1886 and 



374 



ENGLAND'S STORY 



[1837-1918 



1893) in Victoria's reign, and again (191 2) in the reign of 
George V. The question has been complicated by the oppo- 
sition to the bill in the north of Ireland. Much interest was 
felt in Arctic and Antarctic discovery and exploration. 

The wars in which the Empire has been involved are : the 
" Opium War " ; the Crimean War ; the Sepoy rebellion ; and 
the war with the Boers in South Africa. As a result of the 
last, during King Edward's reign, the Transvaal Republic 
and the Orange Free State became British colonies. Follow 
ing the Russo-Japanese war, by which Russia lost all power 
to establish herself south of Vladivostok, Great Britain and 
Japan agreed to unite in protecting their interests in the East 
— the " Open Door " was guaranteed. The great World War 
broke out in 1914, and resulted in the downfall of Germany. 

The literature of the era, especially of the Victorian reign, 
is vast in quantity, and of widely varied kinds and interests. 
Much of it already ranks among English classics. The growth 
and development of the British Empire have been rapid, and 
the progress of invention and scientific research has been 
astounding. 



33. George IV. 
1820-1830. 



HOUSE OF HANOVER 

30. George I. 
1714-1727. 

I 

31. George II. 
1727-1760. 

Frederick, d. before his father. 

32. George III. 
1 760- 1 820. 



I 

34. William IV. 

1830-1837. 



Edward, 
d. 1820. 

.. I 

35. Victoria, m. 

Prince Albert of 

Saxe-Coburg- 

Gotha. 

1837-1901. 

36. Edward VII 
(of Coburg). 

1901-1910. 

37. George V. 
1910- 



INDEX 



Icadia (aca'dla). See Nova Scotia. 

Accused men allowed to have lawyers, 
333 

\ddison, Joseph, 282. 

<Esop's Fables, translated by Henry I., 
50 ; printed by Caxton, 146. 

Agincourt (Szhankoor'), battle of, 130; map, 
64, Dc. 

Alabama claims, 345, 355, 356. 

Albert, Prince Consort, 340, 355. 

A.bert Edward. See Edward VII. 

Alfred the Great, statue of (frontispiece) ; 
reign of, 24-27 ; his work for his kingdom, 
25 ; 336 ; map, 24. 

America, discovered by Columbus, 160; 
voyages of the Cabots, 160 ; visited by 
Frobisher, 205 ; visited by Raleigh, 219, 
220 ; founding of Jamestown, 220 ; 
of Plymouth, 221; of Boston, 229; of 
Pennsylvania, 258 ; English gains in 
America during Anne's reign, 286 ; dur- 
ing the reign of George II., 297, 300-302. 
See Colonies and United States. 

Andrew, Saint, 284. 

Angevins (arrgeVins), name, 64; geneal- 
ogy of, 122 ; Angevin empire of Henry 
II., map, 64. 

Angles, 14. 

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, begins, 26 ; 38, 42, 
54, 56 ; ends, 60. 

Anjou (onzhob'), 56 ; map, 64, Cd. 

Annapolis (in Nova Scotia), 301. 

Anne, portrait, 281; favorites, 285, 286. 

Anne of Cleves, 174, 175. 

Anne of Denmark, picture, 217. 

Anselm, Archbishop, 45, 50, 51. 

Antarctic exploration, 360. 

Arabs, their treatment of pilgrims, 47. 

Archer, Englifj, picture, 109 ; archers at 
Cr^cy, 108, 109 ; at Agincourt, 130. 

Armada (arnia'da), the Invincible, 200-204 ; 
picture, 203. 

Arthur, King, legends of, 13, 61, 74, 75, 82, 
96, 101, 146. 

Arthur, nephew of King John, 82. 

Arthur, son of Henry VII., 159, 167. 

Augustine (a*-gus'tTn), Saint, preaches 
Christianity in England, 17, 18. 

Balaklava (bSlacla'va), battle of, 343; 

map, 328, Fb. 
Balfour, James Arthur, 358. 
Ball, John, 113, 115; picture, 113. 
Ballads, 101, 102 ; ballad of Chevy Chasa. 



I 125; influence of the Robin Hood ballads, 
1 147 ; Scott's, 326. 
Balliol (bSl'liol), John, 97. 
Bannockburn (b5nn5kbGrn'), battle of, 104, 

105 ; map, 103. 
" Barebone'd Parliament," 246. 
Baronet, 218. 

B.irons, of Henry I., 51; cruelty of Ste- 
phen's, 58 ; John's quarrel with, 84-88 ; 

led by De Montfort, oppose Henry III., 

91-93; condemn Gaveston, 104. 
Bastille (basteel'), with picture, 314. 
Bayeux (bayu') tapestry, 36 ; pictures 

from, 32, 33, 35, 37. 
Beaconsheld, Benjamin Disraeli, Lord, 347. 
Beauclerc (boclar'), 49, 50. See Henry I. 
Becket, Thomas a, early manner ol life, 

66, 67 ; contest with Henry II., 67-71 . 

disputing with Henry II. (picture), 68 

murder cf, 71; with picture, 70; 92 j 

119. 
Bede, the Venerable, 19-21. 
Bedford, John, Duke of, Protector, 133, 

135. 
Beggars, increase of and laws against, 172, 

173. 
Benevolences, originated by Edward IV., 

145; abolished by Richard III., 150; 

revived by Henry VII., 158 ; favored by 

James I., 218; a form of, 225; vetoed 

by Parliament, 226. 
Bengal, Prince of, 302, 303. 
Beowulf (ba'owulf), 15-17. 
Bible, translated by Wiclif, 118; sold in 

Germany, 145 ; its sale forbidden in 

England, 146 ; translated by Tyndale, 

177 ; translated by John Eliot, 249 ; 

translated in time of Jarres I., 214; 

copy presented to Charles II., 254 
Black Death, 111 ; effect on villeinage, 

112, 113, 172. 
Black Hole of Calcutta, 302. 
Black Prince, at Poitiers, with picture of 

effigy, 110; death, 115. 
Blake, Admiral Robert, medal, 247. 
Blenheim (blen'im), battle of, 285 ; palace 

of, 285 ; map, 328, Db. 
Blois (blwa), 57. 
Blondel (blondel'), 79. 
" Bloody Assize," 265. 
" Blue-Coat School." See Christ's Hospital. 
Board schools established, 346. See Edv> 

cation. 
Boer War, 348-350; map of, 340. 



INDEX 



Boleyn (bdoi'Yn), Anne, early life of, 167, 
168; marries Henry VIII., 169 ; is exe- 
cuted, 173 ; 175, 183. 

Bonaparte, Joseph, 321. See also Napo- 
leon. 

Border warfare, 124, 125. 

Boston, founded, 229 ; in the beginning of 
the American Revolution, 309. 

Bosworth Field, battle of, 152 ; map, 64, Cb. 

Bothwell, James Hepburn, Earl of, 197. 

Boyne, battle of the, 276 ; map, 231, Cb. 

Braddock, Gen. Edward, 300. 

Brandon, Charles, 164, 167, 180. 

Bright, John, 345. 

Britain, early knowledge of, 1 ; Caesar's 
invasion and description of, 3-7 ; Caesar's 
landing in (picture), 3 ; harassed by 
Scots, Picts, and Saxons, 9, 12 ; gain and 
loss from Roman rule, 11 ; described by 
Bede, 20 ; map of Roman Britain, 8 ; 
map of Alfred's Britain, 26. 

British Empire, growth and extent of, 350. 

British Kings, Geoffrey of Monmouth's 
History of, 60. 

Britons, Caesar's :vscount of, 3-7 ; coracles 
of (picture), 5 ; under the Romans, 9-11 ; 
"Groans of the Britons," 12 ; extermin- 
ated or expelled by the Saxons, 13 ; de- 
scendants of, 96. 

Bruce, Robert, rival of Balliol, 97. 

Bruce, Robert, King of Scotland, contest 
with Edward I., 99; besieges Stirling 
Castle, wins at Bannockburn, 104, 105. 

Building operations under Henry III. (pic- 
ture), 92. 

Bunyan, John, with portrait, 258. 

Burke, Edmund, 307. 

Burleigh (bfir'le), William Cecil, Lord, 193, 
199. 

Burning at the stake, the first, 125. See 
Persecution. 

Burns, Robert, 326. 

By, Danish word for town, 25. 

Cabinet, 293. 

Cabot, John and Sebastian, 160. 

Cadiz, Drake at, 201, 203; map, 328, Be. 

Caedmon (kad'mon), early English poet, 18, 
19. 

Caesar, Julius, 160. See Britain. 

Calais (kiila'), capture by Edward III., 
109, 110 ; palace of Henry VIII. at, 164, 
165; England loses, 187, 188; map, 64, Dc. 

Calendar, correction of the, 304. 

Cambridge, University of, admits Dissen- 
ters, 346. 

Campbell-Bannerman, Sir Henry, 358. 

Canada, English conquest of, 301, 302, 309. 

Cannon, first used at Crgcy, 109 ; picture 
of, 131 ; of state under control of king, 
155. 

Canterbury, map, 26, Dd. 

Canterbury Cathedral, scene of a Becket's 
murder, with pieture, 70, 71 ; penance of 
Henry II. at, 71. 

Canterbury Tales, 119, 120 ; picture of pil- 
grims, 120 ; printed by Caxton, 146. 
(kanuf), 27-29. 



Careless, Colonel, 244, 265 ; picture of fafe 

coat of arms, 255. 

Caroline, Queen, 296. 

Castles built by Normans, 39, 41 ; picture, 
40 ; destroyed, 65. 

Catholics, in England, under Henry VIII., 
170, 171 ; under Mary, 184 ; under Eliza- 
beth, 190, 192, 198, 202 ; under Charles 
I., 223, 224; under Charles II., 258, 261, 
262 ; under James I., 213, 214, 216 ; un- 
der James II., 267-270; under William 
III., 272 ; Gordon riots, 311,312 ; in Ire- 
land allowed to vote for members of Irish 
Parliament, 317 ; Catholic Emancipation 
act, 329 ; disestablishment of the Irish 
Church, 348. 

Cavaliers, with picture, 235. 

Caxton, William, 145-147 ; facsimile of his 
printing, 146. 

Cecil (sg'sil), Sir William. See Burleigh. 

Charge of the Light Brigade, 343. 

Charles I., proposed marriage, 218-220 ; hia 
theory of the " divine right," 222 ; 
treachery in regard to his marriage, 222- 
224 ; appearance and character, 222-224 ; 
portrait, 223; his illegal taxation, 224, 
225; rules without Parliament, revives 
the Star Chamber and the Court of High 
Commission, 228 ; demands " ship- 
money," persecutes the Puritans, 228, 
229; forces the Prayer Book on Scotch 
Presbyterians, 230 ; calls the " Long 
Parliament," 231 ; has trouble in Ire- 
land, 231-233 ; tries to arrest members 
of Parliament, 233, 234 ; is executed, 238 ; 
picture of his trial, 239, 299. 

Charles II., seeks the throne during the 
Commonwealth, 242-245 ; becomes king, 
252-255 ; his character and court, with 
portrait, 256, 257 ; persecutes Dissenters 
and Quakers, 258 ; is kind to sufferers 
by the Great Fire, 260; robs the trea- 
sury, 260 ; is plotted against, 261 ; death 
of, 262. 

Charles V. the emperor, 164, 166, 169, 173. 

Charles VII. of France, 135-138. 

Charles Edward, the " Young Pretender," 
attempts to regain the throne, 297-299 ; 
portrait, 299. 

Charter, of Henry I., 51, 84 ; of Stephen, 
57; of Richard I., 78; of towns disre- 
garded by John, 83 ; Magna Carta, with 
facsimile extract, 85-87. See Chartist*. 

Chartists, 341, 342, 355. 

Chatham, Lord. See William Pitt. 

Chaucer, with portrait, 119, 120 

Chester, or castra, 8. 

Chevy Chase, ballad of, 125. 

Child-labor, and law against, 332, 333. 

China, Opium War with, 340, 341. 

Christianity preached in England, by St. 
Augustine, 17 ; in Ireland by St. Patrick, 
17. 

Christ's Hospital, 179, 180. 

Church, early and mediaeval : Christianity 
preached by St. Augustine, 17, 18; 
riches of, 21, 22 ; ignorance of the priests 
in Alfred's time, 26,; supports William 



INDEX 



111 



Rufus ami is plundered by him, 43-45 ; 
supports Henry I., 51 ; punishments of, 
67 ; John's quarrel with, 82, 83 ; neglects 
the poor, 114, 117; wealth of, 128; en- 
courages Henry V. to make war upon 
France, 129 ; (the building) as a refuge, 
149 ; the Protestant Reformation of, 167, 
170; Henry VIII. becomes head of the 
English Church, 170 ; introduction of 
the English Prayer Book, 178 ; authority 
of the pope restored by Mary, 184 : final 
separation from Chivrch of Rome by 
Elizabeth, 190 ; number of members in 
time of Elizabeth, 198. 
Church of England, disestablishment of, in 
Ireland, 347 ; in Wales, 360. See also un- 
der Church, Presbyterians, Catholics, 
Ireland, Wales. 
Civil Wars, between Stephen and Matilda, 
59, 60 ; John and his barons, 84-88 ; of 
the Roses, 140-142, 152, 155 ; between 
Charles I. and Parliament, 235-238; in 
the United States. See United States. 
Clive, Robert, with portrait, 302, 303. 
Clyde (River), 9; map, 8. 
" Coeur de Lion." See Richard I. 
Coffee-houses, 283. 

Coinage, punishment of coiners debasing, 
53 ; monopolized by Henry II., 65 ; de- 
based by Henry VIII., 171. 
Coin, colonia, 9. 
Colonial expansion, 350. 
Colonies, in America. See America and 
United States. England's feeling to- 
wards, 306, 312, 350,351. 
Columbus, Christopher, 160. 
Commons. See Parliament. 
Commonwealth, time of, 241-246; picture 

of seal of, 245. 
"Confessor," the. See Edward the Con- 
fessor. 
Congressional Library, burned in War of 

1812, 324. 
Conservative Education Act, 357. 
Conservative Government overthrown, 357, 

358. 
Conservative voters, 357. 
Constantinople, captured by the Turks, 

166 ; map, 328, Eb. 
Constitution (Old Ironsides), with picture, 

324, 325. 
Convents, early wealth of, 22. See Monas- 
teries. 
Copenhagen, battle of, 320; map, 328, Da. 
Coracles of early Britons, picture, 5. 
Cornishmen, 268. 
Corn-laws, and repeal of, 342, 343. 
Cornwallis, General Lord, 311. 
Coronation chair, picture, 98. 
Corporation Act, repeal of, 328, 329. 
Costume, pictures of, in the time of Henry 
I., 52, 54 ; in the time of Richard I., 81 ; 
in the 15th century, 140 ; in the time of 
Henry VII., 159; in the time of Eliza- 
beth, 194; of soldiers in the time of 
Charles I., 225; in the time of Charles 
II., 261 ; in the time of George I., 291 ; 
in the time of George II., 300. 



Court of High Commission, 228, 231. 

Courts, cruelty of the, 67 ; of the barons', 
73; district courts of Henry II., 73; 
require the English language, 114; un- 
fairness of, 139. 

Cowton Moor, battle of, 59 ; map, 64, Cb. 

Cranmer, Archbishop Thomas, compiles 
the Book of Common Prayer, 178 ; burned 
at the stake, 186. 

Cr^cy (kreVsi), battle of, 108, 109 ; result 
of, 111, 112, 130, 172 ; map, 64, Dc. 

Crimean War, 343. 

Cromwell, Oliver, attempts to sail to 
America, 229; his "Ironsides," 236; 
commands the army, 237 ; seizes Charles 
I., 238 ; holds chief power, 241, 242; pic- 
ture, 242 ; his Irish campaign, 242, 243 ; 
his Scotch campaign, 243 ; dissolves Par- 
liament, 245; becomes Lord Protector, 
246 ; increases the naval power of Eng- 
land, and protects the Waldenses, 248; 
permits the return of the Jews, is kind to 
the Quakers, sends missionaries to the 
American Indians, 249 : last years, death, 
and burial, 250, 251 ; his body beheaded, 
25 y 5. 

Cromwell, Richard, 251. 

Cromwell, Thomas, with portrait, 174, 175. 

Crossbowmen, Genoese, at Cr^cy, with 
picture, 108. 

Crusades, 46-48 ; effigy of a crusader, 47 ; 
connection with the legend of the Holy 
Grail, 75 ; Richard I. as a crusader, 78, 
79 ; the children's crusade, 93, 94 ; gain 
from, 94,95; 112. 

Culloden (cul-lo'den), battle of, 298; map, 
103. 

Curfew, 41. 

Da Gama, 161. 

Danes, harass England, 10, 22-25; coming 

of the, picture, 23 ; as kings of England, 

27-29 ; descendants of, 97. 
Darnley, Henry Stuart, Lord, 196. 
Dauphin, French, invited to rule England, 

87. 
Dauphin (Charles VII.), 135-138. 
Declaration of Independence, American, 

270 ; of Indulgence, 329. 
"Defender of the Faith," 167, 170. 
Defoe, Daniel, 266. 
Deserted Village, 326. 
Dettingen, battle of, 297 ; map, 328, Ca. 
Dickens, Charles, 353; portrait, 352. 
Dictator over English language, 325. 
Dictionary, compiled by Johnson, 325. 
Directorate, 318. 
Discoveries, of Columbus, the Cabots, and 

Vasco da Gama, 160-162 ; of Drake, 201 ; 

of Raleigh and Frobisher, 205. 
Dissenters, 357. 
" Divine right," the belief of James I., 216, 

217 ; of Charles I., 222 ; of James H., 

266, 267, 273, 290. 
Douglas family, 125. 

Dover, cliffs, picture of, 2 ; map, 236, Dc. 
Drake, Sir Francis, with picture, 201 ; vice 

admiral, 202 ; 203. 



IV 



INDEX 



Dress, expense of, in Elizabeth's time, 194 

Druids, the, 5-7. 

Dudley, Lord Guilford, 180-182, 186. 

Dudley, Robert. See Leicester. 

Dunbar, battle of, 243 -, map, 64, Cb. 

Dunkirk, acquired by England, 248 ; sale of, I 
260 ; map, 328, Ca. 

Du Quesne, Fort (in America), 300. 

Durham, map, 236, Ca. 

Durham Cathedral, picture, 50. 

Dwellings, of Britons, 4, 9 ; of Romans in 
Britain, 9 ; of Saxons (picture), 15 ; of rich 
and poor in Elizabeth's time, 193-195. 

East India Company, 302, 308. 

Ecclesiastical History, 20; translated by 
Alfred the Great, 26. 

Edgehill, battle of, 236 ; map, 236, Cb. 

Education, convent schools in early Eng- 
land, 19, 22; encouraged by Alfred the 
Great, 25, 26 ; board schools established, 
346. See Learning. 

Edward I., as prince, 91 ; goes on a crusade, 
93 ; his representative Parliament, 96 ; 
conquers Wales and gives it a prince, 96, 
97 ; tries to conquer Scotland, 97-99 ; 
banishes the Jews, 99, 100 ; death, 99. 

Edward II., favorites of, 104, 105 ; is de- 
posed, 105, 106. 

Edward III., marches against Scotland, 
106 ; seeks the French crown, 107-111. 

Edward IV., accession, 141, 142; loses the 
support of Warwick, 144 ; portrait, 144 ; 
is restored to the crown, 144 ; originates 
" benevolences," 145; 149. 

Edward V., 148-151 ; in the Tower, picture, 
151 ; impersonated by Warbeck, 157. 

Edward VI., birth, 173; 175; character, 
176 ; portrait, 177 ; hears Latimer preach, 
177 ; Prayer Book of, 178 ; establishes 
schools, 179, 180 ; his will and death, 
181 ; and his council, picture, 179. 

Edward VII., 356. 

Edward the Confessor, becomes king, 30; 
promises his crown to William of Nor- 
mandy, 31 ; recommends Harold, 32 ; 
builds Westminster Abbey, 36 ; 107. 

Egbert, " King of the English," 21 ; drives 
away the Danes, 24. 

Elba, 322 ; map, 328, Db. 

Eliot, John, 249. 

Elizabeth, birth and early life, 173, 175, 
181, 183, 186, 188; portrait, 189; acces- 
sion, 189 ; declares herself a Protestant, 
190 ; is crowned, 190, 191 ; is carried in 
state, picture, 191 ; her difficulties, 191- 
193 ; manner of living in her reign, 193- 
195; conduct toward Mary of Scotland, 
195-200; excommunicated, 205; English 
devotion to, 205 ; Elizabethan literature, 
205-208 ; character, 208, 209. 

Elizabeth (of York), Lancaster and York 
united by her marriage to Henry VII., 
with her portrait, 156. 

Emma, 27 ; marries Canute, 29, 30. 

Empress of India, Victoria proclaimed as, 
347. 

4 English and Spaniards." 186. 



11 English Pate," 72 ; map, 231, Cb. 

Epitaph of Charles II., 256, 257. 

Erie (Lake), Perry's victory on, 325. 

Essays of Elia. 327. 

Essex, Robert Devereux, Earl of, 232. 

Evangeline, 301. 

Evesham, battle of, 91-93; map, 64, Cb 

" Exclusion Bill," 262. 

Excommunication, 70 ; of John, 83 ; of 

Luther, 167; of Henry VIII., 171; of 

Elizabeth, 202. 

Factories built, 323; law regulating chil 
dren's labor in, 332. 

Faery Queen, 206. 

Fairfax., Sir Thomas, 237. 

Famine in Ireland, 342. 

Favorites, of Edward II., 104, 105; el 
James 1., 217, 218 ; of Anne, 285, 286. 

Fawkes, Guy, 216. 

Ferdinand, king of Spain, 159, 160. 

Feudalism in England under the Con- 
queror, 37, 38 ; affected by scutage, 66 ; 
by the crusades, 94, 95 ; by Cre"cy, 111 j 
by the Black Death, 112 ; disappearanc4 
of, 155 ; remains of, in France, 313. 

" Field of the Cloth of Gold," 165. 

Fire-ships, 204. 

Fisher, Bishop John, 171. 

Flanders, ally of England, 107 ; map, 64. 
Dc; fine weaving introduced from, 112; 
Caxton living in, 145. 

Flodden Field, battle of, 164 ; map, 236 
Ba. 

Florence, the refuge of Greeks in 1453, 166 

Florida, 302. 

Forth (River), 9 ; map, 8. 

Fotheringay Castle, 200 ; map, 236, Cb. 

France, subdued by Caesar, 1 ; English pos- 
sessions in, 73; English possessions in 
France forfeited by John, 82 ; the Hun- 
dred Years' War, 107-138, passim ; map 
of English lands in France in 1429, 134 ; 
Joan of Arc's deliverance of, 135-138; 
England fears becoming a province of, 
196 ; influence of France on English lit- 
erature in Anne's time, 282; opposes 
Maria Theresa, 296, 297 ; French power 
in India, 302; recognizes American Inde- 
pendence, 310 ; declares war against 
England, 316, 317. See Revolution, 
French. 

Francis I., king of France, 164-166. 

Francis II., king of France, 195, 196. 

Franklin, Benjamin, 307, 308. 

Frederick the Great, 299. 

Freedom of the press, 272. 

French and Indian War. See Seven Years* 
Wa.. 

French language, spoken at the English 
court, 60 ; romances brought to England, 
60 ; learned by the English, 100 ; Eng. 
lish borrows words from, 100; French 
men learn English, 100. 

Frobisher, Martin, 202, 205. 

Froissart, 110. 

Gaddis, or Geddes, Jane, 230. 



INDEX 



Gama (ga'ma), Vasco da, 161, 162. 

Gaveston, Piers, 104. 

Genealogy, of Norman kings, 63 ; of An- 
gevius, 122; of Lancaster, York, and 
Tudor sovereigns, 154; of the Tudors, 
210 ; of the Stuarts, 288 ; of the Han- 
overians, 357. 

General Election of 1906, 358. 

Geneva award, 345, 346. 

Genoese crossbowmen, with picture, 108, 
109. 

Gentleman, the knight the ideal, 76. 

Geoffrey of Anjou, 56, 59, 64. 

Geoffrey of Monmouth, 60, 74. 

George I., accession, with picture, 289; 
his treatment of James Edward's sup- 
porters, 291 ; his absence from cabinet 
meetings, 293, 294. 

George II., accession, 294; opposes Wal- 
pole, 295, 296 ; portrait, 296 ; fights at 
Dettingen, 297 ; his unpopularity, 303. 

George III., as Prince of Wales, 295, 296; 
accession, character, with portrait, 305, 
306; his persistency in the American 
Revolution, 310 ; acknowledges the in- 
dependence of the United States, 311 ; 
his simplicity, 316, 317 ; opposes reli- 
gious freedom, 318 ; regency of his son, 
324 ; literature during his reign, 325-327. 

George IV., as regent, 324; accession, 
character, with portrait, 327, 328. 

George V., 358; portrait, 359. 

"George Eliot," 353. 

Gibraltar, 285, 286 ; map, 328, Be. 

Gladstone, William Ewart, with picture, 
347, 348. 

Glastonbury, abiding place of the Holy 
Grail, 74. 

Globe Theatre, picture, 208. 

Gloucester, Duke of, uncle of Henry VI., 
133. 

Godwin, Earl of Wessex, 29. 

" Golden Age of English Literature," 206. 

Goldsmith, Oliver, 325. 

Gordon riots, 311, 312, 316. 

Government, origin of some modern cus 
toms of, 293, 294. 

Grand Pre" (pra) (in Nova Scotia), 301. 

M Grand Remonstrance," 233. 

Great Britain, formation of the kingdom, 
283; makes treaty with Japan, 356 ; sec- 
ond treaty, 357. 

Great Britain and Ireland, union between, 
357. 

* Great Commoner." See William Pitt. 
" Great peace statesman," 345. 

Greeks arouse interest in the old know> 
ledge, 166 ; Greek scorned by the Eng 
lish clergy, 166. 

Greenland, 205. 

Gregory, Pope, 13. 

Grendel, 15, 16. 

Grey, Lady Jane, with portrait, 180, 181 
sent to the Tower, 182 ; her twelve days' 
reign, 182 ; Mary signs her death wa- 
rant, 186. 

* Groans of the Britons," 12. 
Pruilds, 195, 206. 



Gunpowder Plot, with picture of the con. 

spirators, 214-216. 
"Guy Fawkes's Day," 216. 

Hadley (in Massachusetts), 255. 

Hampden, John, attempt to sail to America, 
229 ; refuses to pay unjust taxes, with 
portrait, 230 ; killed in battle, 237. 

Hanging Stones, 7. 

Hanover, fears of George U. for, 299 ; his 
interest in, 303 ; England free from, 336. 
House of Hanover, genealogy of, 357 ; 
map, 328, Ca. 

Harbingers, 186. 

Harfleur (artier') besieged by Henry V., 
130 ; map, 64, Dc. 

Harold, Earl of Wessex, in Normandy, 31, 
32; at the battle of Senlac, 34-36. 

Harsh treatment of children, 134, 171 ; of 
Lady Jane Urey, 181. 

Hastings, battle of. See Senlac. 

Hawkins, Sir John, 202. 

Henry I. (Beauclerc) receives silver from 
his father, 42, 43 ; accession and charter, 
51 ; invades and conquers Normandy, 52 ; 
punishes coiners and regulates " purvey- 
ing," 53; his severe taxation, 54; mar- 
riage, 55 ; loses his son, 55 ; plans for 
Matilda to succeed him, 56 ; death, 56. 

Henry II. (Plantagenet), 64 ; destroys 
castles, 65 ; reforms the coinage, 65 ; in- 
troduces scutage, 65 ; his contest with & 
Becket, 66-71 ; his penance at Canter- 
bury, 71 ; subdues part of Ireland, 72 ; 
his judicial reforms, 73 ; death, 74. 

Henry III., the first child king, with pic- 
ture of his coronation, 89, 90 ; demands 
money to secure the Sicilian crown, 91 ; 
opposes de Montfort and the other bar. 
ons, 91-93; building during his reign, 
picture, 92. 

Henry IV., chosen by Parliament, 121 ; 
his Welsh campaign, 123-125 ; makes 
war upon France, 124 ; portrait of Henry 
and his court, 124 ; his relations with his 
son, 126, death, 126, 128. 

Henry V., as prince, 126, 127 ; generosity 
to his foes, 128 ; partially conquers 
France, 129-132 ; death, 132. 

Henry VI., unhappy childhood, 133, 134; 
his French lands, 133-138; becomes in- 
sane, 139; captured by the Earl of War- 
wick, 141 ; deposed, 142 ; restored, 144 ; 
imprisoned, 145. 

Henry VII., betrothed to the daughter of 
Edward IV. of York, 151 ; wins at Bos- 
worth Field and is crowned, 152; por- 
trait, 156 ; methods of raising money, 
157, 158 ; does not aid Columbus, sends 
the Cabots, 160; chapel of, picture, 161. 

Henry VIII. , early traits, with portrait, 
162-164; meets Francis near Calais, 164: 
his interest in the Renaissance, 166 ; be» 
comes " Defender of the Faith," 167 ; 
his struggle for a divorce from Katha- 
rine and his marriage to Anne Boleyn, 
167-170 ; his persecutions, 170, 171 ; 
seizes the smaller monasteries debases 



vi 



INDEX 



the coinage, 171 ; executes Anne and 
marries Jane Seymour, 173 ; marries 
Anne of Cleves, 174 ; divorces her, 175 ; 
his will, 175, 177, 180, 183; planned a 
marriage for his son with Mary; Queen of 
Scots, 195. 

History of British kings, 60 ; history writ- 
ten. GO, 101. :02. 

Holland, the Pilgrims' refuge, 221 ; rela- 
tions with England during the Protector* 
ate, 247, 248 ; loses New Netherland, 260, 
261 i the ally of England, 284. 

'Joly Grail, legend of, 74 ; connection with 
the crusades, 75. 

Holy Land, ruled by Arabs, 46, 47 ; ruled 
by Turks, 47, 78, 93, 126. 

"Home Rule," for Ireland, 348, 360. 

Hood, Robin, ballads of, 101 ; their influ- 
ence on the English people, 147. 

Hooper, John, Bishop, 186. 

'* Hotspur," Harry Percy, so-called, 125, 
128. 

Howard, Admiral, 202, 209. 

Hudson Bay, 286. 

Hundred Years' War, cause, 107 ; in tim6 
of Edward III., 107-111 ; 115 ; ends, 138; 
effects of, 139, 141. 

4 Inclosing," 172, 178, 179. 

Independents, go to America, 221 ; in the 
war between Charles I. and Parliament, 
237, 238, 241. 

Independent voters, 357. 

India, English rule established in, 302, 303 ; 
Sepoy mutiny, 344 ; Victoria proclaimed 
Empress of India, 347 ; 357. 

Inquisition, 185. 

Interdict, John's kingdom placed under, 82. 

Inventions, steam engine and machines for 
spinning and weaving, 323 ; of the nine- 
teenth century, 351, 352. 

Ireland, early churches and schools in, 17 ; 
partially subdued by Henry II., 72; 
ruled by John, 72 ; " Strongbow " in, 72 ; 
review of England's connection with, 231, 
232; revolt against Charles I., 233; sup- 
ports Charles II., 242 ; Cromwell's cam- 
paign in, 243; supports James II., 274- 
277 ; the English Parliament claims the 
right to make laws for, 292; Roman 
Catholics shut out of the Parliament of, 
292; Irish Parliament represents only 
members of the Church of England, 312, 
313 ; commercial limitations of, 312 ; 
raises troops and demands reforms, 313 ; 
obliged to support the Church of Eng- 
land, 317 ; Reign of Terror, 317, 318; 
Irish allowed to vote for Protestants as 
members of the Irish Parliament, 317 ; 
united with England, 317 ; attempts of 
France and Spain to free, 818 ; the Irish 
flag and the " Union Jack," picture, 318 ; 
famine in, 342; the "land question," 
347 ; Church of England disestablished 
in, 348; gain in the land tenure, 348; 
" home rule," 348, 360 ; local self-govern- 
ment granted, 348 ; map of, 231. 
"Ironsides," 236. 



Isabella, child queen of Richard II., 121 1 

sent back to France, 124. 
Isabella, queen of Spain, 159, 160. 

Jacobites. 274, 299. 

"Jacques" (shak), 284. 

James I., birtn, 196; proclaimed king ot 
Scotland, 197 ; accession, appearance, 
211 : portrait, 212 ; confers with Puritan 
ministers, 213 ; his belief in the " divine 
right," 216, 217 ; favorites, conflict with 
Parliament, 217, 218;dealings with Spau\ 
218-220; executes Raleigh, 219; death, 
221. 

James II., comes to England with Charles 
II., 253 ; 259, 260, 261, 262 ; accession, 
263 ; Monmouth's rebellion and James's 
revenge, 263-266; arbitrary rule of, 266, 
267 ; attempts to restore the Roman Cath- 
olic Church to power in England, 267, 
268 ; imprisons the five bishops, 268 ; por» 
trait, 269 ; abdicates the throne, 269, 270 ; 
tries to regain the throne, 274-278; 
death, 280. 

James Edward (the Pretender), 280, 283, 
286 ; attempts to gain the crown, 290, 
291, 298. 

Jamestown, 220. 

Japan, her gains in the Russo-Japanese 
War, 357 ; her treaties with Great Brit- 
ain, 356, 357. 

Japanese, character of, 357. 

Jeanne (zh&n) d'Arc. See Joan of Arc. 

Jeffreys, Judge George, with portrait, 265, 
266 ; death, 270. 

Jerusalem, 46; ruled by Saracens, 75, 79, 
94 ; map, 328, Fc. ; Jerusalem Chamber, 
126. 

Jesuits, 199. 

Jews, robbed for the crusade of Richard I., 
78; robbed by John, 83; banished by 
Edward I., 99, 100 ; allowed to return by 
Cromwell, 249 ; in Parliament, 346, 347. 

Joan (jon) of Arc, with picture of statue, 
135-138. 

John, rules Ireland, 72 ; rebels against hie 
father, 74; tries to keep Richard I. in 
prison, 80 ; murders (?) his nephew, loses 
his French lands, 82 ; quarrels with 
church and barons, 82-88, his cruelty 
and injustice, 83; signs Magna Carta, 
85; death, 88. 

Johnson, Samuel, 325. 

Jonson, Ben, 207. 

Jutish boat, picture, 13. 

Katharine of Aragou, marries Prince 
Arthur, 159, 160 ; marries Henry VIII., 
167, 173, 175. 

Kensington, Palace of, 335. 

Kent, map, 26, Dd ; king of Kent accept* 
Christianity, 17, 18. 

King George's War. See War of the Aus- 
trian Succession. 

" King Monmouth." See Monmouth. 

"King of the English," title assumed bj 
Egbert, 21. 

" King's Champion," 328. 



INDEX 



vn 



'• King's War," the, 310. 

Kirke, Colonel Percy, 265. 

" Kirke's Lambs," 265. 

Knighthood, becoming a knight, with pic- 
ture, 76, 77 ; the good and the bad in, 
77 ; effigy of a knight, 78 ; picture of 
knights in armor, 129 ; knights at Aein- 
court, 130, 131. 

'• Knights of the Royal Oak," 257. 

Korea, 357. 

Labor Party, 358. 

Labrador, 205. 

" Lackland," 82. 

Lafayette (lafayef), Marquis de, 310, 315. 

La Hogue (lahog'), naval battle of, 278 , 
map, 328, Ca. 

Lamb, Charles, 326, 327. 

Lancaster, House of, conflict with House 
of York, 140-152, passim ; genealogy of 
kings of, 154. 

Land, belonging to the king, 37, 38 ; 
changes in ownership caused by the 
crusades, 94, 95 ; land, not people, re- 
presented in Parliament, 331. 

Land question, the Irish, 347, 348. 

Langland, William, writes " Piers Plow- 
man," 114. 

Langton, Archbishop Stephen, 82 ; lead? 
the barons against John, 84. 

Language, the English, William the Con- 
queror tries to learn it, 39 ; spoken by 
the masses of the people, 60 ; gained 
many new v/ords from the French, 100, 
101 ; courts of justice require English, 
114 ; becomes the literary language, 120 ; 
laws printed in, 150 ; used in the church 
service, 178 ; softened by the French, 205. 

Language, French, used at court, 60. See 
Language, the English. 

Language, Latin, used in church and con- 
vent, 20, 60 ; Alfred the Great translates 
Latin books into English, 26 ; Henry I. 
translates from Latin to English, 50; 
used by George I., 289. 

Latimer, Bishop Hugh, preaches before 
Edward VI., 177 ; burning of, 186. 

Laud, Archbishop,William, 227, 228, 231. 

Learning, of the Druids, 7 ; of early Ire- 
land, 17 ; classic learning revived (Re- 
naissance), 166. 

Leicester (lester), Robert, Earl of, 193. 

Leopold (le'opold), Duke of Austria, 78, 
79. 

" Levelers," 241. 

Liberals, carry General Election, 357, 358. 

Literature, English, Caedmon, 18, 19; 
Bede, 19-21 ; Beowulf, epic of, 15-17 ; 
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, begun, 26; ended, 
60 ; King Alfred's writings, 26 ; history 
written, 60, 101 ; ballads of Robin Hood, 
101 ; Langland writes Piers Plowman, 
114; Chaucer, 119, 120; ballads, not 
books, composed in the fourteenth and 
fifteenth centuries, 146, 147 ; of the 
Elizabethan age, 203-208 ; plays in the ' 
time of James I., 217; Milton writes 
Paradise Lost, 248, 249. with picture of 



Milton; Bunyan writes Pilgrim's Pro- 
gress, 258 ; Defoe writes Robinson 
Crusoe, 266 ; the age of prose, 281, 282 , 
novel of home life, in reign of George II., 
303 ; of reign of George III., 325-327; 
of Victoria's reign, 352-354. 
Loire (River) (lwar), 134 ; map, 64, Cd. 
London, map, 26, Cd., gives vessels to 
meet the Armada, 202 ; threatened by 
James I., 218; Great Plague in, 259; 
Great Fire of, 259, 260; robbed by 
Charles II., 260 ; independence of, under 
James II., 268 ; set fire to in the Gordoi 
riots, 312. 

Londonderry, founded, 232, 233 ; siege of. 
275, 276 ; map, 231, Ca. 

" Long Parliament,"' 231. 

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 26, 301. 

Louis XIV., 260 ; supports James II., 275, 
277, 278, 280. 

Louis XVI., 315. 

Louisburg, 297. 

Lucknow, massacres at, 344. 

Luther, Martin, 167, 170. 

Macaulay, Lord Thomas Babington, with 
portrait, 353. 

Macdonald, Flora, 299. 

Magna Carta, with facsimile extract from, 
85-87. 

Majuba Hill, 349 ; map, 349. 

Manchuria, 357. 

Map, Walter, 74. 

March, Edmund Mortimer, Earl of, 121, 
123, 125, 128, 140. 

Marcus Aurelius, 356. 

Margaret, wife of Henry VI., 141-144. 

Maria Theresa, 296, 299. 

Marlborough, Jolin Churchill, Duke of. 
with portrait, 284-286. 

Marlborough, Sarah, Duchess of, with por- 
trait, 285, 286. 

Marlowe, Christopher, 207. 

Marston Moor, battle of, 237; map, 236, 
Cb. 

Mary I. (Mary Tudor), disinherited by 
Parliament, 173, 175, 181 ; proclaimed 
queen and crowned, 182, 183 ; early life, 
183 ; her religion, marriage, 184-186 ; per- 
secution of Protestants, 186, 187 ; de- 
serted by Philip, 187 ; loses Calais, 187 ; 
contrast between her early life and Eliz- 
abeth's, 188. 

Mary II., marriage to William of Orange, 
269 ; accession jointly with her husband 
269, 270 ; portrait, 273 ; repels the inva- 
sion of Louis XIV., with commemorative 
medal, 278 ; character, 279. 

Mary (sister of Henry VIII.), 164, 167, 180. 

Mary (wife of George V.), 359. 

Mary, Queen of Scots, early life, 195 ; claim 
to the English throne, with portrait, 196 ; 
marries Lord Darnley, 196 ; resigns the 
Scotch throne, 197 ; escapes from Loch- 
leven and flees to England, 197, 198 ; is 
imprisoned and executed, 199, 200. 

Masham, Mrs., favorite of Queen Anne, 
286. 



Vlll 



INDEX 



Mason, James Murray, Confederate com- 
missioner to England, 345. 
"Master Aylmer," 181. 

ilatilda, wife of William the Conqueror, 
33, 36. 

Matilda, wife of Henry I., 55. 

Matilda, daughter of Henry I., chosen by 
her father as his successor, 56 ; her con- 
test with Stephen, 57-60. 

Mayflower, the, 221. 

Mediterranean (Sea), Roman territories 
about, 7 ; control of, sought by Napo- 
leon, 319 ; sought by Russia, 343. 

Methodism, rise of, 294, 295. 

Milan, Duchess of, and Henry VIII., 173. 

Milton, John, with portrait, 248, 249. 

Minimum Wage Act, 360. 

Minstrel, with picture, 101, 102 ; salary of, 
147. 

Mistress of the Robes, 336. 

Monarchy, early character of, 216, 217 ; 
Egbert of Wessex rises to supremacy, 
21 ; Danish conquest of the crown, 27 ; 
election of Harold (not of the royal 
family), 32; William the Conqueror be- 
comes king by conquest (32-36) and by 
election (36); charter of Henry I., 51; 
the question of succession to the crown 
on the death of Henry I., 55 ; election of 
Stephen, 60 ; election of Henry II., 60 ; 
election of John, 82 ; Magna Carta 
signed, 85; Henry III., the first child 
king chosen, 88 ; beginnings of a repre- 
sentative Parliament, 91 ; Parliament 
deposes Edward II. and gives the crown 
to Edward III., 105; Richard II. is de- 
posed, and Parliament gives the crown 
to Henry IV., 121; Wars of the Roses 
between the rival royal houses of York 
and Lancaster, 140-152, passim; usur- 
pation of Richard III., 150 ; accession 
of Henry VII. by victory of Bosworth 
Field, 152 ; despotic rule of Henry VIII., 
170, 175 ; succession to the crown ar- 
ranged by Parliament's confirmation to 
the king's will, 175 ; accession of Mar\ 
Tudor, the first female sovereign, 182 ; 
religious dictation of the Tudors, 170, 
178, 184, 191, 192 ; claims of Elizabeth 
and of Mary Stuart to the crown, 195, 
196 ; the crowns of England and of Scot- 
land united under James I., 212 ; James's 
assertion of the " divine right," 216 ; 
his arbitrariness, 217 ; conflict of Charles 
I. with Parliament, 224-229, 231, 233- 
235 ; civil war between Charles I. and 
Parliament, execution of the king, and 
overthrow of the monarchy, 235-241 ; 
restoration of the monarchy, 252 ; failure 
of the " Exclusion Bill," 262; arbitrary 
rule and forced abdication of James II., 
266-270 ; Parliament gives the crown to 
William and Mary, 270 ; limitations of 
the sovereign agreed to by William, 
271 ; Parliament gives the throne to 
Anne (280), and after her to the House 
of Hanover (286) ; under George I., the 
sovereign's power decreases, 289 ; two 



political parties, Whigs and Tories, 290, 
Walpole establishes government by the 
cabinet and by the ministers, 293, 294 ; 
attempted increase of the royal powers 
under George III., 305; limitations of 
the royal power, 336-338. 

Monasteries, seized by Henry VIII., 171; 
Parliament refuses to restore the land of, 
184. 

Monk (mungk), General George, 251, 252. 

Monmouth, the Duke of, proposed for the 
throne, 262 ; rebellion of, with portrait. 
262-265. 

Monmouth, Geoffrey of, 61, 74. 

"Monopolies," 228. 

Montcalm (m6ncam'), Marquis de, 301. 

Montfort, Simon de, leads the barons 
against Henry III., 91-93 ; his work. 98, 
96. 

Mora, the, 33. 

More, Sir Thomas, 171. 

Mortimer, Edmund, Earl of March, 121. 

Mortimer, favorite of the mother of Ed- 
ward II., 105-107. 

" Morton's Fork," 158. 

Moscow, 321. 

"Mrs. Freeman," 285. 

"Mrs. Morley," 286. 

Mystery plays, with picture, 61-63, 207. 

Napoleon Bonaparte, his rise to power, 318 ; 
his wars, with portrait and medal to 
commemorate his expected conquest of 
England, 319-322; becomes first consul 
and then emperor, 320; his defeat at 
Waterloo and exile, 322. 

Naseby, battle of, 237 ; map, 236, Cb. 

Naseby (vessel). See " Royal Charles." 

Natal (natal'), 349 ; map, 349. 

"Navigation Laws," 247. 

Navy, of England, begun by Alfred the 
Great, 27 ; at the time of Harold, 34 ; at 
the time of the Armada, 202 ; war ship 
of Henry VIII., picture, 165 ; naval 
glory under Cromwell, 247 ; in conflict 
with France and with the United States, 
325. 

Nelson, Admiral Horatio, with portrait, in 
the battle of the Nile, 319 ; in the Baltic 
and off Trafalgar, 320. 

New England Primer, 186. 

New Forest, 41 ; map, 26 ; scene of the 
death of Richard and of William Ruf us. 
48. 

Newfoundland, 160, 286. 

New Hampshire, 357. 

New Isle. See Newfoundland. 

New Jersey, nicknamed " Spain," 321. 

New Orleans, battle of, 325. 

New York, 260, 261. 

Nightingale, Florence, with portrait, 343. 

Nile, battle of the, 319 ; map, 328, Fc. 

"Non-jurors," 273. 

Norman, vessel, picture, 33 ; conquest, 35, 
36 ; castles in England, with picture, 39, 
40; influence in England, 43; soldiers, 
picture, 44 ; kings, genealogy of, 63. 

Normandy, sons of Emma brought up in, 



INDEX 



IX 



29, Harold wrecked on coast of, 31; 
united with England under William the 
Conqueror, 36 ; willed to Robert, 42 ; 
mortgaged to William Rufus, 46; con- 
quered by Henry I., 52 ; lawlessness 
under Stephen, 58 ; conquest by Geoffrey 
of Anjou, 59 ; lost by John, 82 ; map, 
64, Dc. 

North, Lord Frederick, 308, 311. 

North Cape, discoverer of, 26. 

Northumberland, John Dudley, Duke of, 
178-182. 

Northumbria, 20. 

Northwest Passage, 205. 

Nottingham, 235, 270 ; map, 236, Cb. 

Nova Scotia, acquired from France, 286 ; 
possession confirmed, 301. 

Novels, historical novels of Scott, 326; 
present popularity of novels. 353, 354; 
of home life, 303, 326. 

" Oak-apple Day," 255, 256. 

Oates, Titus, 261. 

Oath, chief men swear to support Matilda. 
56 ; barons swear to oppose John, 84 ; 
chief men swear allegiance to Edward I., 
95 ; oath of fealty to Edward II. re- 
nounced, 105, 106 ; oath taken by Wil- 
liam III., 272; of allegiance to William 
III. refused by non-jurors, 273 ; required 
by the Test Act, 329. 

O'Conuell, Daniel, 329, 347. 

Odo, half brother of William the Con- 
queror, 38, 39. 

>4 Old Ironsides," with picture, 324, 325. 

"Open Door," 357. 

Opium War, 340, 341. 

Orange Free State, with map, 349. 

Orleans (orla'on) siege of, 135-137; map, 
64, Dd. 

Oxford, Matilda escapes from, 59 ; map, 64, 
Cc; early library of University of , 118; 
University of, admits Dissenters, 346. 

Pacific, 357. 

Page, duties of, 76. 

Pale, the English, 232 ; map, 231, Cb. 

Palestine, 47. 

Paradise Lost, 249. 

Parliament, beginning of the House of 
Commons, 91 ; the first organized repre- 
sentative Parliament, 96 ; gains power by 
the Hundred Years' War, 139 ; members 
not freely elected, 139; expulsion of Pres- 
byterians from, 238 ; House of Lords abol- 
ished (241), and restored, 252; dissolution 
of, by Cromwell, 245,246; "Barebone's," 
246 ; reforms in electing members of, 331, 
332 ; limitations and value of the Lords, 
338, 339 ; power of the Commons, 339 ; 
limitations of membership of the Com- 
mons, 341 ; reform of the House of Lords, 
359. See also Monarchy. 

Parties, religious, in reign of Elizabeth, 
192; Cavaliers and Roundheads, 235; in 
the time of the Commonwealth, 241; 
in time of William and Mary, 273, 274; 
Whigs and Tories under George I., 290. 



Patrick, Saint, preaches in Ireland, 17. 
Peasants' Revolt, 115-117. 
Peel, Sir Robert, 336. 
Penance of Henry II., 71. 
Peninsular War, 321. 
Penn, William, 258. 
Pennsylvania, 258. 
" People's Charter," 342. 
Pepys (peps), Samuel, 254, 257, 259. 
Percy, Harry (Hotspur), 125, 128. 
Perry, Oliver Hazard, 325. 
Persecution, religious, first burning at the 
stake, 125 ; under Henry VIII., 170, 171 : 
under Mary, 184-187 ; under James I., 
214, 220 ; under Charles I., 229 ; of Wal 
denses, 248 ; under Charles II., 257, 258 
of Scotch Presbyterians, under James II 
267. 
Peter the Hermit, 47. 
Petition, of peasants to Richard II., 116 
of Puritans to James I., 213 ; "Petition of 
Rights, ' '226, 227. See C hartists. 
Pevensey (peven'sey), 34 ; map, 26, Dd. 
Philip of Castile, 159. 

Philip of France, as a crusader, 78 ; at- 
tempts to imprison Richard I., 79, 80; 
deprives John of his French lands, 82 ; 
son of Philip, invited to rule England, 87. 
Philip II. of Spain, marries Mary I., with 
portrait, 184-186 ; deserts her, 1S7 ; woos 
Elizabeth, 190 ; sends the Armada, 200- 
204. 
Philippa, wife of Edward III., pleads for 
the citizens of Calais, 110; introduces 
fine wool weaving, 112. 
Picts, harass England, 9, 12, 13 ; descend- 
ants of, 97. 
" Piers Plowman." 114. 
Pilgrimage, to Canterbury, see Canterbury 
Tales ; of Canute, 28 ; a deed of merit, 
46. 
" Pilgrim Fathers," 220, 221. 
Pilgrim's Progress, 258. 
Pitt, William (Lord Chatham), 307, 309; 

with portrait, 310. 
Plague, the Great, 259. 
Plantagenet (plantaj'enet), derivation of 
the word, 64; king at table, picture, 96; 
genealogy of royal house, 122. 
Plays, in Elizabeth's time, 206, 207 ; in 
time of James I., 217 ; scorned by the 
Puritans, 249, 250. See Mystery Plays. 
Plymouth, 203 ; map, 236, Ac. 
Plymouth (in the United States), 221. 
Poetry, in Elizabeth's time, 206 ; in Anne's 
time, 282 ; in time of George III., 325, 
326. 
" Poet's poet." See Spenser, 206. 
Poitiers (pwatia'), battle of, 110; map, 

64, Dd. 
Poor, sufferings of the, under Henry VIII., 
171, 172; sufferings of renters of small 
farms, 177-179; hard lives of the, 195; 
suffering caused by the invention of 
machinery, 323; pensions for aged, 358. 
"Poor Priests," 117. 
Pope, Alexander, ^82. 
Portsmouth, 357. 



INDEX 



"Poundage," 224. 

Pounds, John, 346. 

Prayer Book, the English, compiled, 178 ; 
forced upon the Scotch Presbyterians, 
230. 

Presbyterians, 211, 213, 230 ; conflict be- 
tween them and the Puritans, 236-238; 
241 ; persecuted in Scotland by James II., 
267. 

'•' Pretender." See James Edward. 

" Pride's Purge," 238. 

" Prince Charlie." See Charles Edward. 

" Prince of Wales," origin of the title, 96, 
97. 

Printing, invented and brought to England, 
145, 146; facsimile of Caxton's, 146; 
effect upon the Renaissance, 166. 

Protectorate, the, 246-252. 

Protestant Reformation, beginning of, 167. 

Punishments, severity of, 323. 

Puritans, Puritanism, rise of, 192 ; under 
James I., 213, 220, 221 ; under Charles 
I., 229, 235, 236, 249, 250 ; under Charles 
II., 257, 258; ministers in the Great 
Plague, 2591 

Purveyors, brought under laws, 53. 

Quakers, 249, 258, 267. 
Quebec, capture of, 301. 
Queen Anne's War. See War of the Span- 
ish Succession. 

Raleigh (rS'li), Sir Walter, 202, 205 ; with 
portrait, 219. 

Rasselas (ras'elas), 325, 326. 

Reformation, begun by teachings of Luther, 
167; 170. 

Regicides, 254, 255. 

Reign of Terror, in France, 316 ; in Ireland, 
317, 318. 

Renaissance, 166. 

" Restoration " of Charles II., 252. 

Revolution, American, the Stamp Act, with 
picture of stamp, 306-308 ; beginning of 
the war, 309-311 ; its close, 311. 

Revolution, French ; oppression of French 
peasants, 313-315; destruction of the 
Bastille, with picture, 314; excesses of 
the revolutionists, 315, 316 ; the Reign of 
Terror, 316 ; English feeling towards, 
316, 317. 

Revolution, industrial, 323. 

Revolution of 1688, 269, 270. 

Rheims (rimz), 136-138 ; map, 64, Ec. 

Richard I., revolts, 75; his name, Coeurde 
Lion, 77 ; character of, 77, 80 ; as a cru- 
sader, 78; imprisonment and ransom, 
with picture, 79 ; taxes his people, 78 ; 
death, 80, 81. 

Richard II., meets an angry mob, 115, 116 ; 
marries the child Isabella of France, is 
deposed, 121 ; imprisonment of, 123; his 
body shown in St. Paul's Cathedral, 123. 

Richard III., becomes Protector, 148 ; be- 
comes king, abolishes benevolences, 
prints the laws in English, murders (?) 
his nephews, 150, 151 ; is slain at Bos- 
worth Field, 152. 



Richard, Duke of York (died 1460), his 

claim to the throne, 140, 141 ; is slain in 

battle and leaves a son, who becomes 

Edward IV., 141. 
Richard, son of Duke Robert, killed in 

the New Forest, 48. 
Ridley, Bishop Nicholas, 186. 
"Right of Search," 324. 
Rizzio (ret'seo), David, 196. 
Robert, half-brother of William the Con- 
queror, 38. 
Robert, son of William the Conqueror, 42, 

43, 46 ; with effigy, 47, 48, 50-53. 
Robinson Crusoe, 266. 
"Rocket," the first locomotive, picture, 

334. 
Rogers, John, with picture, 186. 
Roman Britain, map of, 8 ; walls, with 

picture, 9, 10 ; rule in Britain, 11. 
Roman Catholic Church. See Catholic 

Church. 
Romans, at home, 7 ; in Britain, 8-10 ; 

leave Britain, 10. 
Rome, Canute makes a pilgrimage to, 28 ; 

value of a pilgrimage to, 46. 
Roses, Wars of. See Wars of the Roses. 
" Rotten boroughs," 331, 332. 
Rouen (rooon'), 244 ; map, 64, Dc. 
Roundheads, with picture, 235, 236. 
"Royal Charles," with picture, 253. 
" Royal Oak," 255, 256. See Knights of 

the Royal Oak. 
Runnymede, with picture, 85; map, 64, 

Cc. 
Rupert, Prince of the Palatinate, 237. 
Russia, Napoleon's invasion of, 321 ; fights 

with Turkey 343 ; fights with Japan, 

356 ; crippled in the East, 357. 
Russo-Japanese War, 356. 
Rye House Plot, 361. 

" Sailor King." See William IV. 

Saint Helena, 322. 

Salisbury (s&lz'bury), Plain, 7 ; map, 26, Cd. 

Sanctuary, right of, 149 ; at Westminster, 
with picture, 149. 

Saracens (sar'asenz), rule Jerusalem, 75; 
79,91. 

Baxon, epic. See Beowulf. Saxon ordealb, 
73 ; names for days of the week, 15. 

Saxons, harass and then conquer Britain, 
12, 13; on the Continent, 14-17 (with 
map, 14) ; as slaves in Rome, 17 ; Chris- 
tianity preached to, 17,18; of the same 
race as the Danes, 22. 

Schelde (schel'de) (River), English victory 
near mouth of, 107. 

Scone (skoon), Stone of Scone, carried to 
England, with picture, 98 ; map, 103 ; 
James I. crowned on, 212 ; Charles II. 
crowned at, 243. 

Scotland, Irish origin of the Scots, 9; 
Roman forts across, 9 ; Edward I. be- 
comes overlord of, 97 ; Scotch resistance 
to Edward I., 97-99 ; to Edward II. by 
Robert Bruce, 104, 105 ; border warfare, 
124 ; supports Perkin Warbeck, 157 ; 
war with England in reign of Henry 



INDEX 



XI 



VIII., 164; attempt of Henry VIII. to 
win the hand of Mary, Queen of Scots, 
for his son, and Mary's marriage to 
Francis, Dauphin of France, 195 ; Mary's 
claim to the English throne, 11)5, 196; 
her widowhood and marriage first to 
Lord Darnley, then to the Earl of Both- 
well, 196, 197 ; her deposition and escape 
to England, 197-199 ; her execution, 199, 
200 ; accession of her son James to the 
English throne, 211 (See James I.), 
revolts against the required use of the 
English Prayer Book, 230; "Solemn 
League and Covenant " with the English 
Parliament against Charles I., 237 ; sur- 
render of Charles I. to the Scots, and 
their surrender of him to the Presbyte- 
rian Parliament, 237, 238 ; attempts of 
Charles (II.) to secure the English 
throne and battle of Worcester, 242, 
243; Stuart line restored, 252; Scotch 
Presbyterians persecuted by James II., 
Jacobite risings, 274-277; 290, 291: 
297-299 ; England and Scotland united, 
283, 284 ; historical map of, 103. 

Scott, Captain Robert Falcon, 360. 

Scott, Sir Walter, 326, 353. 

Scutage introduced by Henry H., 65. 

Sea-power. See Navy. 

Seax (sa'ax), 14. 

Seizin (se'zTn), 34. 

Senlac, or Hastings, map, 26, Dd; battle of, 
with picture, 35, 36. 

Separatists, 221. 

Sepoy mutiny, 343, 344. 

Sevastopol (sevasto'pol), siege of, 343 ; 
map, 328, Fb. 

Seven bishops, imprisonment of the, 268. 

Seven Years' War, 299-302. 

Severn (River), 243 ; map, 26, Bd. 

Seymour, Jane, 173. 

Shackleton, Sir Ernest, 360. 

Shakespeare, William, with portrait, 207; 
his theatre, the Globe, with picture, 208. 

Sheep-raising, 172. 

"Ship-money," 229. 

Shovel (shuv'l), Sir Cloudesley, 285. 

Shrewsbury, battle of, 125 ; map, 64, Cb. 

Sicily, son of Henry III. suggested as ruler 
of, 90, 91. 

Simnel, Lambert, 156. 

Slavery abolished in England's West Indian 
colonies, 333. 

Slidell (slidel'), John, Confederate commis- 
sioner to England, 345. 

Smith, Captain John, 220. 

Soldiers, under Charles I., picture, 225. 

" Solemn League and Covenant," 237. 

Solway (River), 9 ; 198 ; map, 8. 

Somerset (sum'erset), Edward Seymour, 
Duke of, 177-179. 

Songs of Elizabeth's time, 206. 

South Sea Bubble, 292. 

Spain, England's fear of becoming a pro- 
vince of, 185 ; the Spanish Armada, 
200-204; connection of James I. with 
(Spanish marriage question), 218-220 ; 
attempts to aid Ireland, 318 ; asks Eng- 
land's aid against Napoleon, 32] . 



" Spain," nickname of New Jersey, 321. 

"Spectator," 282. 

Spenser, Edmund, 206. 

Squire, duties of, becoming a knight, with 
picture, 76, 77. 

Stamp Act, with picture of stamp, 308. 

Standard, battle of the, with picture of the 
Standard, 59. 

Star Chamber, 158, 228, 231. 

Steam engine invented, 323. 

Stephen, accession, grants charter, 57 ; his 
contest with Matilda, 57-60 ; in Nor- 
mandy, 58; his death, 60 ; 64, 65. 

Stephenson's locomotive, picture, 334. 

Stirling Castle, with picture, 105 ; map, 
103. 

Stonehenge (ston'henj), with picture, 6, 7 ; 
map, 8. 

Strafford, Sir William Wentworth, Earl of, 
228, 229, 231, 233. 

" Strongbow " becomes a king in Ireland, 
72. 

Stuart sovereigns, genealogy of, 288. 

Sully, Maximilien de Bethune, Due de, 
212. 

Sweyne (swan), king of England and Den- 
mark, 27. 

Sympathy, after the Black Death, 112 ; in 
the reign of William IV., 334. 

Tabard Inn (tab'ard), 119. 
Tarn O'Shanter, 326. 
Taunton, 263. 

Taxation, under Henry I., 54 ; undei 
Richard I., 78 ; under John, 83; twelve- 
penny tax of Richard II., 115 ; freedom 
of church lands from, 150 ; severe taxa- 
tion unsafe, 157 ; under James I., 218 ; 
certain taxes given to the sovereigns, 
224; under Charles I., 225, 228-230; of 
the American colonies, 306-309 ; pro- 
posal for, must come from the Commons, 
339. 
Tennyson, Alfred, Lord, 13, 74, 343, 353; 

portrait, 352. 
Test Act, repeal of, 328, 329. 
Thackeray, William Makepeace, 353. 
Thanet (than'et) (island), 17; map, 26. 

Dd. 
Theatres, closing of the, 249. 
Tiieves, severe laws against, 172, 173, 

323. 
" Thorough," 228. 

Threshing and winnowing, picture, 20. 
Tinchebrai (ttnch'bra), battle of, 52 ; map, 

64; Cc. 
"Tonnage," 224. 
Tories, 290, 295. 

Tower of London, built by William the 
Conqueror, 41; murder of Edward V. 
and his brother in, picture, 151. 
Towns, charters given by Richard I., 78; 

charters of, disregarded by John, 83. 
Towton (tou'ton), battle of, 142 ; map, 64 

Cb. 
Trafalgar (trafal'g'ar), battle of, 320; map, 

328, Be. 
Transvaal, 349; map, 349. 
Treww u y (trelawtay). Bishop, 268. 



Xll 



INDEX 



Trent, aitair or rhe, 34!>, 356. 

Tudor, Owen, l. r >5. 

Tudor sovereigns, genealogy of, 154, 210. 

" Tumble-down Dick." See Richard Crom 

well. 
Turks rule the Holy Land, 47 ; capture 

Constantinople, 166. 
" Twelve-days' Queen," 182, 183. 
Tyler, Wat, 115, 116. 
Tyndale (tyn'dal), William, 177. 
Tyne (River), 9 ; map, 8. 

Union, between England and Scotland, with 
picture of flag, 283, 284 ; between England 
and Ireland, with picture of the flag, 
317, 318. 

Unionist Party, formation of, 357. 

• 4 Union Jack," with picture, 283, 284. 

United States. See Colonies, Discoveries, 
American Revolution. Civil war in, 344- 
34G. 

Utopia (uto'pia), 171. 

Valhalla (valhal'a), home of dead heroes, 

Venerable Bede, 21. 

Vicar of Wakefield, 325, 326. 

Victoria, childhood, 329; accession, 335, 
336 ; portrait, 337 ; marriage, with por- 
trait of Prince Albert, 340 ; proclaimed 
Empress of India, 347 ; the literature of 
her reign, 352-354; public interest in her 
life, her character, 354-356 ; her " per- 
sonal monarchy," 357. 

Villeinage, affected by the Black Death 
and the battle of Cr<5cy, 111-113 ; pun- 
ishment of runaway villeins, 112 ; at- 
tempts to burn the lists of villeins, 115, 
116. 

Virginia, 220. 

Vladivostok, 357. 

Wages, increased by the Black Death, 112 ; 
the slow rise of, 171, 172. 

Waldenses (wolden'sez), 248. 

Wales, survival of Christianity in, 17 ; sub- 
jugated by Edward I., 96 ; the first Eng- 
lish Prince of Wales, 96, 97 ; the Welsh 
at Cr£cy, 109 ; Wales upholds Richard II., 
123 ; accepts the rule of Henry VIII. as 
that of a Welshman, 164; Churchin, 360. 

Walker, the Reverend George, 276. 

Wallace, William, 98 ; statue, 99. 

Walpole, Sir Robert, with portrait, 292-295, 
297. 

Warbeck, Perkin, 157. 

War of 1812, 324, 325. 

War of the Austrian Succession, 296, 297, 
299. 

War of the Spanish Succession, 2S4-286. 

War ship that conveyed Henry VIII. to 
France, picture, 165. 

Wars of the Roses, beginning of, 140-142 ; 
fierceness of, 142, 155 ; last battle of, 152. 

Warwick (wor'ik), Richard Nevil, Earl of 
(the king maker), 141, 143-145. 

Washington, George, 300, 339. 

Watchwords of the French Revolution, 316 

Waterloo, battle of, 322 ; map, 328, Ca. 

Watt. James. 323. 



Weaving, fine weaving introduced inta 
England, 112 ; machinery for weaving 
invented, 323. 

Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, Duke of, 
drives Napoleon from Spain, 321 ; victory 
at Waterloo, with portrait, 322, 335, 342. 

Wesley, Charles, 295. 

Wesley, John, with portrait, 295. 

Wessex, 21, 29 ; map, 26, Bd. 

Wessex, Godwin, Earl of, 29. 

West Indies, 265, 333. 

Westminster Abbey, with picture, 36, 37. 

Whigs, 290, 295, 305. 

Whitby Abbey, picture, 18. 

Whitefield, (hwit'feld), George, 295. 

White Ship, loss of, 55. 

Wiclif (wik'lif) John, forms bands of 
" Poor Priests," with portrait, 117 ; his 
"doctrine of the kingdom of God," his 
translation of the Bible, 118 ; a follower 
of him burned at the stake, 126 ; his 
translation forbidden to be sold, 146. 

Wight,«Isle of, the refuge of John, 87 ; the 
refuge of Charles I., 238; map, 26, Cd. 

Wilberforce, William, 333. 

William the Conqueror, visits England, 31 ; 
invades and conquers England, is elected 
and crowned king, 32-36 ; distributes the 
English lands, 38 ; his treatment of Odo, 
choosing Norman officers, 38, 39 ; estab- 
lishes the Curfew, clears the New Forest, 
41 ; compiles the Domesday Book, 41, 
42 ; death, 42, 66, 89, 97, 336. 

William I. (Rufus), recommended as king 
of England, 42 ; accession, 43 ; despoils 
the church, 44 ; receives the revenues of 
Normandy, 46 ; death, 48. 

William III. (of Orange), marries Mary 
II., 269 ; accession jointly with his wife, 
269, 270 ; signs a bill limiting the power 
of the crown, favors religious liberty, 
with portrait, 271, 272 ; opposition to 
him, 274, 279 ; his campaign in Ireland, 
with picture of William crossing the 
Boyne, 276, 277 ; death, 280. 

William IV., character, with portrait, 330; 
reforms and inventions during his reign, 
330-334. 

Winchester, 41 ; map, 26, Cd ; 43, 48, 49 ; 
coiners punished at, 53. 

Windsor, 85. 

Winthrop, John, 229. 

Wolfe, General James, with portrait, 301. 

Wolsey (wul'zi), Cardinal Thomas, with 
picture of him and his suite, 168 ; his 
mode of life, 168, 169; portrait, 170; 
called upon to obtain the pope's annul- 
ment of the first marriage of Henry VIII. 
169 ; arrest and death, 170. 

Woodvilles, the, 148. 

Worcester, battle of, 243 ; map, 236, Bb. 

Wordsworth, William, 326. 

World's Fair, 340. 

Wren (ren), Sir Christopher, 260. 

York, rival house in the Wars of the Roses, 
140 ; genealogy of York sovereigns, 154. 

"Young Pretender." See Charles Ed- 
ward. 



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